Keeping the Asian honey bee

A different bee

• Colonies are smaller, so hives are smaller and yields per colony are lower.
• Absconding is normal. A cerana colony under stress, disturbance or dearth simply leaves, which makes heavy-handed management counterproductive.
• Swarming is more frequent, so increase is easy and holding a colony in place is the hard part.
• Comb spacing differs, which means European frames and foundation do not transfer without modification.
• It is the original host of varroa, and coexists with it, which is why cerana beekeeping does not revolve around mite treatment.

The hives

Horizontal log hives on stands or under eaves, cavities built into house walls, hollowed sections hung under a roof overhang, and in Japan and Korea stacked wooden boxes. All are fixed-comb, all are worked from one end or from the top, and all suit a bee that objects to being opened.

Where the honey goes

Cerana honey is typically consumed locally or sold in regional markets rather than exported, and in several regions it commands a premium over imported Apis mellifera honey on the strength of being local and from the native bee. Quantities per colony are small, so a keeper's income comes from many hives rather than from a few productive ones.

The bee also matters beyond honey. Apis cerana pollinates crops across its range, and in mountain agriculture where mellifera does poorly it is the pollinator that is actually present. Beekeeping and cropping are consequently tied together in a way that is less visible in temperate commercial systems.