DIVERSITY IN TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR ENTICING APIS DORSATA COLONIES IN INDONESIA

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1 DIVERSITY IN TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR ENTICING APIS DORSATA COLONIES IN INDONESIA Soesilawati Hadisoesilo Forest and Nature Conservation Research and Development Jl. Gunung Batu 5, Bogor, Indonesia Telp , Fax or It is known that Indonesia has the most diverse honey bee species in the world. Apis dorsata or the giant honey bee is one of the seven indigenous honey bees of Indonesia. Although A. dorsata is the main honey producer in Indonesia, especially outside the island of Java, every attempt to manage this bee like the cavity-nesting honey bees always fails. However, in some parts of Indonesia, honey collectors have been practicing traditional techniques to entice A. dorsata colonies to artificial nesting sites. On the island of Belitung this technique is called Sunggau, in Lake Sentarum, West Kalimantan it is named Tikung, and in an area close to Poso Lake, Central Sulawesi, it is called Tingku. The principles of these three techniques are similar. The differences among them are the condition and the topography of the place where they are built, and the way they are erected. Sunggau are built in dry places with flat topography, Tikung are built in wetland areas, and Tingku are built in hilly areas. Sunggau are erected with the support of one or two poles or branches of a tree which act as poles, whereas Tikung are erected with the support of two branches of a tree. Tingku, on the other hand, are erected without any support but are inserted into slopes. This paper gives brief descriptions on these three traditional techniques. INTRODUCTION Apis dorsata or the giant honey bee is one of Indonesia s native honey bee. There are two subspecies of A. dorsata in Indonesia namely A. dorsata dorsata which is found all over Indonesia except Sulawesi, and A.d. binghami which is found only in Sulawesi and its surrounding islands (Fig.1, Sakagami et al.1980). F i g. 1. Distribu tion of Apis dorsata (Sakagami, 1980)

2 Although A. dorsata is the main producer of honey in Indonesia, especially outside the island of Java, every attempt to manage this bee as with the cavity-nesting honey bees A. cerana, nigrocincta, koschevnikovi, nuluensis, and mellifera always fails. In some part of Indonesia, however, namely in the islands of Bangka and Belitung, the Sentarum Lake West Kalimantan, and in the area close to Poso Lake Central Sulawesi, traditional techniques have been being practiced for decades to manage A. dorsata colonies to make honey harvest easier. These techniques are called Sunggau, Tikung, and Tingku on the islands of Bangka Belitung, at Lake Sentarum, and at Poso respectively (Fig.2). Sunggau, Tikung, or Tingku can be defined as a man-made micro habitat or a man made nest structure for A. dorsata. The principles of these techniques are similar. The differences among them are the condition and topography where they are built and the way they are erected. This paper give brief descriptions of these three traditional techniques. SUNGGAU Sunggau has been being practiced in the islands of Bangka and Belitung for decades, but know one knows exactly when it was invented. According to one of honey gatherers (Sahli, 1998, pers. comm.) this technique has been practiced for at least three generations. A sunggau is made of an non-debark trunk with diameter of cm and length varied between two and three meters. There is no preference of wood or tree in making a sunggau; it seems A. dorsata is not very selective in choosing the type of wood for nesting site. Kayu medang (Litsea sp.), betor (Callophyllum pulcherricum), and samak (Eugenia garcinaefolia) are some wood used for making sunggau (Sahli, 1998, pers. comm.). Fig. 2. Map of Indonesia and the areas where Sunggau, Tikung, and Tingku have been being practiced

3 This trunk is attached to two branchy poles which have different heights (ground sunggau) or to branches of a living tree in a slight slope position (climbing sunggau) so that the slope of a sunggau to the horizontal is approximately 15-30E. The height of the poles depends on the height of vegetation where a sunggau is built. The height of longer poles (front poles) and the shorter poles (back poles) are about 2-3m and 1-2m respectively. The attachment of a sunggau is upside down i.e. the lower trunk must be attached to the longer pole (Fig. 3). A sunggau is built in a secondary lowland forest either in a swampy or a dry area. It is not difficult to erect a sunggau; in general it must be placed in a shady cool place although sunlight is needed from all direction. In front of the front part/upper part of a sunggau must face to the open sky; it must be free from trees, twigs, or leaves that can disturb the departing and arriving bees. The back part, on the other hand, has to be darker than the other sides. The orientation of a sunggau is not a critical factor affecting the occupation of a sunggau and honey gatherers usually reposition unoccupied. The important thing is that a colony is free from disturbance especially birds. The occupation rate of sunggau is very low, it is only 10-20% depending on the season (Purwanto, 1999). Harvesting honey is done by two persons during day time using a traditional smoker to drive off the bees. After the bees left the nest, they cut the brood and pollen comb, leaving the honey comb which is cut afterward. The brood and the pollen comb are thrown away. All this process can be done within 3-5 minutes; in a fine day they can harvest 1-3 sunggau, depending on the distances between sunggau. Within 10 minutes the bees come back to the empty sunggau, and in most cases they abandon the sunggau eventually. Fig. 3. Diagram of a sunggau.

4 TIKUNG Tikung is another technique for enticing A. dorsata colonies that has been being practiced for more than a century in the upper Kapuas lake region, West Kalimantan. Tikung was first described by van Lijnden and Groll in 1851 (Crane et al., 1993). They reported that when the swarming season of A. dorsata arrives, people hung a tekkong (tikung) in their trees. In 1933, de Mol (cited by Crane et al., 1993) reported that 500 families practiced tikung beekeeping, he also gave a full description on tikung beekeeping. The skill of making tikung is past from one generation to another generation, no formal training is attended by honey gatherers. A tikung is used to be made by splitting a pole with a drainage channel was made in the flat upper part side (Crane et al., 1993), but now it is made of a carved hardwood plank which has a convex shape in one side and a concave shape on the other side. It is made of odorless, strong and durable tembesu (Fagraea fragrans) wood which lasts over 20 years (Crane et al., 1993; A. Erman 1997, pers comm.). The length of the planks varied between 0.8 and 2.5 m., with width of cm., and thickness of 3-4 cm. At each end of the plank a triangular or rectangular hole is made to which a wooden pin is inserted to attach the plank to a branch (Fig.4, pers. obs., 1997; Crane et al., 1993; Mulder et al., 2000). The plank is attached to tree branches at least 1.5m above the highest water level in the rainy season in a slight slope position, 30E to the horizontal. The upper part is oriented toward the open sky, the concave side faces downward so that the upper convex side can facilitate rainwater runoff (pers. obs., 1997; Mulder et al. 2000). Some trees preferred to attach tikung planks are: kamsia (Mesua hexapetala), masung (Syzygium claviflora) and empai/ timbang tawang (Crudia teysmania) (Mulder et al., 2000). When the last flowers from kayu tahun (Carallia bracteata) are in bloom, it is a sign that honey is ready to be harvest (Mulder et al., 2000). Honey harvest is done on moonless night using a wooden knife to cut the comb (A. Erman 1997, pers. comm., Mulder et al., 2000). As in harvesting sunggau, honey comb is cut after brood comb is cut (Mulder et al., 2000). Fig. 4. Diagram of a tikung

5 TINGKU The traditional technique of making tingku was originated at the village of Kelei, a small village close to the Poso Lake Central Sulawesi in the 1930s and has since spread to the five neighboring villages. As in the other techniques, skills in building and erecting tingku are transferred from parents, friends; no formal training is attended by honey gatherers. A tingku is made of a roughly plane wood plank or a tree trunk. The length of the planks varied between 2.0 and 3.5m. With width of 10-25cm. or cm. in diameter for a tree trunk. Wood between 3 and 10 cm. in thickness according to the honey gatherers is strong enough to support the nest of A.d. binghami. Because a tingku is permanently built, honey gatherers prefer to make tingku from strong wood such as kayu kondongio (Dysoxylum densiflorum), kayu kolahi (Fagraea fragrans) or kayu ampuni (Cycas sp.) which last for years. The branch of Pterocarpus indicus is also preferred to make tingku because it will sprout, grow and become a living tingku. Unlike tikung, choice of wood for tingku plank is not affected by the smell of the wood but by the strength of the wood. Strong smelling wood such as kayu kondongio is chosen for making tingku because of its durability. A tingku is erected under a secondary forest or in a plantation, which still has a lot of bee forage or is close to bee forage. Because the geographic condition of the area is hilly, tingku is erected on a slope. The raising of a tingku differs from those of sunggau and tikung; a tingku is erected without any support of poles on the ground. It is inserted into a steep slope about m. deep, so that the length of a tingku above the ground is about m. Both side of the tingku are covered with leaves and small twigs to avoid disturbances from animals, but in the front (in front of the upper end) must be widely open ( Fig. 5). The slope of a tingku to the horizontal ranges between 0 0 and 30 0 or 30 0 to 60 0 between a tingku and the land slope (Hadisoesilo, in press). Because tingku is permanently built, it can be erected any time of the year but it must be monitored afterward, especially when the blooming season starts. Checking a tingku is done a month later after bees have occupied the tingku. If the comb near the upper end of the tingku bellies out it means honey is ready to be harvested. Harvesting honey from a tingku is very easy and done during the day. The bees are driven off using traditional smoker from behind the tingku. After the bees left, all the comb is cut. Fig. 5. Diagra m of a tingku

6 The owner of the tingku harvests honey by himself. On a fine day a honey collector can harvest up to 10 colonies. DISCUSSION Sunggau, Tikung, and Tingku are traditional techniques of managing A. dorsata that have been being practiced for decades or perhaps more than a century in Indonesia. These techniques are part of the Indonesian heritage, therefore, preserving these techniques is of vital important. These techniques which are safer than climbing trees also need improving so that the occupation rates of the nest sites by the bees increase. Techniques of harvesting honey should be improved by cutting of only the honey and leaving the brood combs. If it is done at the right time, this technique of harvesting would permit 2-3 harvests per season. Moreover, selective cutting may increase the sustainable of colonies. So far, no data available on the origin of these techniques and when they were invented. Sunggau and Tikung would have a common origin because of the short distance between these places people from these areas could easily travel from Borneo to Bangka Belitung or vice versa. The more primitive technique practiced in Lampung, South Sumatra as explained by de Vries (1992), perhaps the predecessor of Sunggau and Tikung. On the other hand, Tingku which was invented later might have independent origin but no report of any similar technique is known from any other region nearby. However, there is a possibility that Tingku technique was brought from Borneo by Bugis people who like traveling and sailing. Tikung was modified into Tingku in accordant to the local condition and topography. REFRENCES Crane, E., V. van Luyen, V. Mulder, T.C. Ta Tarditional management system for Apis dorsata F.) In submerged forests in southern Vietnam and central Kalimantan. Bee World 74(1): de Vries, R The history of honey and wax production of the giant honeybee (Apis dorasata) in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia. Proc. Ist NECTAR seminar, Royal Tropical Inst. Amsterdam, pp Hadisoesilo, S. In press. Tingku, a traditional management technique for Apis dorsata binghami in central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Proc. 7 th IBRA Conf. On Tropical Bees and 5 th AAA Conf. Chiang Mai, Thailand March Mulder, V., V. Heri, T. Wickham Traditional honey and wax collection with Apis dorsata in the upper Kapuas Lake Region, West Kalimantan. Borneo Res. Bull. Purwanto, D.B Some observations on beekeeping management with Apis dorsata in Belitung, South Sumatra, Indonesia. MS Thesis, Faculty of Forestry & Ecology, Georg-August Univ, Göttingen, Germany. Sakagami, S.F., T. Matsumura, K. Ito Apis laboriosa in Himalaya, the little known world largest honeybee (Hymenoptera, Apidae).Insect Matsumunara 19: