Beekeepers and bee wax moth - what's the buzz about? : a study about the attitude towards beekeeping and wax moth in Kenya

Abstract: The bee wax moth (Galleria mellonella) is a troublesome pest of the honeybees that can cause substantial financial losses that can be devastating for the beekeepers. The moth is a universal pest but thrives in a warmer climate, the insect is nocturnal and feed on pollen, wax and other impurities. The eggs are laid in crevice’s and other small spaces where the bees cannot reach them. When feeding through the comb the moth larvae can cause damage on bee larvae, combs and cause honey leakage. Although the African honeybee (Apis mellifera ssp scutellate) is more resistant to pests than the European honeybee (Apis mellifera) the African honeybee has a major problem with the wax moth. The aim of this study was to investigate Kenyan beekeepers’ awareness of the wax moth and the occurrence of the pest. The interviews revealed that the majority of farmers considered the wax moth as the largest pest problem in the bee hives and the most difficult to handle. Even after performing control measures to prevent infestations of the moth the problem remained. They cleaned the ground but still had issues and after invasion of the moth they cleaned the hives and fumigated them. The reason why they keep bees differs; most of the beekeepers wanted some extra income and a few of them also consider the contribution to pollination of their crops important. Beside the pests, the lack of equipment is a problem. Only one farmer has a bee suit and therefore they are the only ones who can visit and inspect the hives. An additional problem is the lack of an extractor machine. Instead of extracting the honey from the intact wax combs they need to cut off all the wax combs and cannot harvest as often as they want. Although the bee wax moth was the major problem according to the majority of the farmers in this study.