Bees leave Sundarbans as mangrove forest turns inhospitable
Swarms of bees are leaving many areas of the Sundarbans in quest of a safer home as they now find it difficult to get a suitable place for building colonies in the mangrove forest.
Experts said bees like to live in peace. However, they feel disturbed due to random denudation of forest through felling of trees and honey extraction in the forest which led them to look for safe abode.
The Sundarbans abounded in wild bees. But now these bees have started migrating in swarms to the forests of Assam and Paschimbanga for want of suitable place for building their hives in the Sundarbans, said a forest official.
“Random denudation of forest, and honey extraction are mainly responsible for considerable decrease in the number of honey combs in the Sundarbans,” he said.
He further said everyone gives more attention to honey collection than the welfare of bees. As a result, honey output in the Sundarbans is on the decline.
An estimate reveals that about 5,000 maunds of honey are produced in the Sundarbans annually. Apart from being a nutritious food, honey is a basic raw material for pharmaceutical industry.
Experts said rock bees, known for their poisonous stinging, find it convenient to build hives in a tree branch, ceilings of buildings and gardens and groves.
People drive these bees away from their honey combs due to ignorance.
Experts suggested that the forest department authorities should immediately go for developing apiculture scientifically in the world's largest mangrove forest which will be a big source of foreign exchange earner.
The primitive methods of extracting honey from the hives through the use of fumy fire should be strictly prohibited, they added.
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