PENCINTA
ALAM APRIL 2019
GREEN
LIVING COLUMN
GETTING
TO KNOW MY BEE SAVIORS – PENYELAMAT LEBAH MALAYSIA
By
Wong Ee Lynn <wongeelynn@yahoo.com
/ gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com>
All
photo credits: From MY Bee Saviors – Penyelamat Lebah Malaysia’s Facebook page.
We
all know that honey bees are the most important pollinator of food crops. It is
estimated that one third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination
mostly by bees, but also by other insects, birds and bats. Even for crops that
are not directly pollinated by honey bees, the crop still benefits indirectly
from being in an environment in which honey bees are found, due to the
increased biodiversity in the area which stimulates the crop.
Bees
pollinate not only food crops consumed by humans, but also other plants eaten
by other animals and birds, so they play a vital role in the entire food chain.
They pollinate wild flowers, thus enhancing biodiversity. Bee populations –
whether healthy or declining – tell us about the health of the wider
environment.
Unfortunately,
bee populations worldwide are facing serious threats. Habitat loss and
fragmentation, pesticides, climate change, diseases and parasites and invasive
plant species have all contributed to the
decline in bee populations.
The
global scientific and environmental community has been working hard to protect
and restore bee populations by calling on governments to ban pesticides linked
to declines in bee populations. In April 2018, European Union member states
agreed to ban the outdoor use of neonicotinoid pesticides. France has gone one
step further, banning 5 types of pesticides linked to bee deaths both for
outdoor and indoor use. The US Donald Trump administration has, unfortunately,
lifted an Obama-era ban on the use of bee-killing pesticides.
While
Malaysia has made no such declaration on the use of bee-killing pesticides, one
volunteer-run organisation has been quietly and heroically saving bees, one
hive at a time.
MY
Bee Savior / Penyelamat Lebah Malaysia is a group founded in January 2015 by
Haji Musa Yaacob, a retired MARDI (Malaysian Agricultural Research and
Development Institute) researcher and Encik Izatul Lail Bin Mohd Yasar, another
MARDI researcher.
As
the group started growing and increasing its reach, MARDI decided to adopt the
group as a Corporate Social Responsibility project in January 2017. As of March
2019, the group has almost 200 registered volunteers nationwide.
Volunteer
registration is available online for members of the public who are interested
in saving bees. Interested individuals can contact the group, and the administrators
of the group will then ask the prospective volunteers a few questions to
determine their suitability and readiness before registering them. Upon
registration, volunteers will be given an e-book on how to relocate bees, and
some video files on the bee relocation process. New volunteers will be invited
to join senior volunteers on bee relocation operations in the areas nearest to
them. New volunteers who are experienced beekeepers are permitted to undertake
the relocation process themselves without the presence of senior volunteers. Active
MY Bee Savior volunteers are given a protective beekeeping suit each, or may
purchase their own beekeeping suits. Some tools and equipment may be used
depending on the complexity of the operations, location or position of the bee
hive, and species of bees. MNS members who have engaged the services of these
helpful volunteers, though, report that the volunteers mostly use just a
cardboard box and tape!
MY
Bee Savior volunteers do not charge homeowners or property managers for their
bee relocation services, as their goals are public outreach and education,
preventing the killing and poisoning of bees, protecting and increasing bee
populations and encouraging sustainable beekeeping and honey harvesting
practices. The bee hives and colonies are usually relocated to sustainable bee
farms, for example, the one in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). If there is
honey collected during the relocation operation, the homeowner may share it
with the volunteers. If the homeowner is interested in keeping the bees for
honey production purposes, he or she may request that the volunteers bring or
construct a hive box for a specified fee. MY Bee Savior accepts donations
whether for the transport expenses of individual volunteers, or larger sums to
enable the organisation to purchase more beekeeping suits and equipment.
In
the event you find a bee colony on or around your premises, please do not smoke
the bees out or spray them with insecticides. Instead, contact MY Bee Savior at
019 664 8081 and they will get one of their volunteers to contact you as soon
as one is available. MNS members have reported that MY Bee Savior volunteers
usually show up within 24 to 48 hours and the relocation is done efficiently
without harming the bees.
To
find them on Facebook, visit: https://www.facebook.com/penyelamatlebah/?ref=br_rs
