Today—21 October—in Hawaiian History [1857]: Honey Bees are successfully introduced to the Hawaiian Islands from California. Several later introduction are successful and bee colonies are established on Hawaii Island. Beginning in the 1890s, the cattle industry began to grow in Hawaii and with it brought the need for increased production of cattle forage and feed that could be grown in Hawaii. Along with grasses, kiawe seed pods were identified as an important food source for the cattle. Therefore, the kiawe was planted and encouraged to spread to provide food and shade for cattle roaming the dry, hot leeward side of the islands. During this time, the honey bee had an instrumental role in the spread of kiawe in Hawaii. As a way to increase kiawe seed pod production, honey bee hives were placed in close proximity to kiawe trees to increase pollination of flowers and thereby increase the pod and seed set. This resulted in a quick and manyfold increase in the acreage of kiawe on the Big Island and the rest of the state. One of the upsides of all of the kiawe trees was the good quality of kiawe honey that was produced and exported to North America and Europe. At its height of production, more that 200,000 pounds of kiawe honey were exported annually from Hawaii. In 2007, there were 40 bee operations with 10,000 colonies. Currently, the plight of the European honey bees in Hawaii has been well documented. The recent introduction of the small hive beetle and the varroa mite has had a devastating effect on hive survival and vitality. The overall reduction of bees, and subsequent loss of managed hives and feral colonies, has resulted in yield reductions of certain crops that are dependent on their pollination services. In addition to crop yield reductions, the two insect pests are also threatening the multi-million dollar queen bee production businesses that we have on the Big Island. Annually, several hundred thousand queen bees are exported from Hawaii. Are you a honey lover? Have a favorite? Share a honey story with us.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 10:05:01 +0000