Alternative Approaches to Traditional Beekeeping in Bali
/The traditional Balinese methods for harvesting honey are not larvae and hive growth supportive. While the general practice is to only harvest 40% or less of the hive, because of the fact that wild Balinese bees build their hives such that brood cells and honey cells are in the same area of the hive - generally the bottom two thirds are brood cells with larvae and the top third are the honey cells. This differs greatly from western honeybees that build their brood cells in a separate part of the hive from the honey storage cells. As such, the traditional Balinese methods to harvest honey simply include removing the entire section of honeycomb - both brood cells and honey cells - and processing all of it. The honey is extracted and the brood cells are boiled and the larvae are eaten. If new extraction methods can be achieved, hopefully honey harvesting can be done without destroying the larvae or the existing honeycomb, which will hopefully improve hive health and increase honey production.
