Burning down hives is no solution to bee attacks

Since January,the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has burnt down about 1,500 beehives in the city...

Since January,the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has burnt down about 1,500 beehives in the city,said S K Sharma,president of the Environment Society of India,at a seminar on Hunting Beehives organised by Commonwealth Youth Asia Programme in Sector 12,Chandigarh,on Monday. But environmentalists cautioned that this practice was causing damage to the surroundings and destroying the citys biodiversity.

M Sadique,Assistant Director of the Central Bee Research and Training Institute in Pune,told Newsline: There is no need to burn a beehive to remove it. All it requires is a set of trained persons,who can take down the beehives with care.

K R Chirwatkar,Entomologist-cum-Parasitologist of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporations pest control organisation,said: We need to understand that burning down hives serves no purpose as 60 to 80 per cent of the bees are out of the hive at all times and that those left will make another hive at an alternate place. The environmentalists discussed that swarming season when bees travel in groups in search of new sites to make hives and may sting humans when threatened is in full swing. The experts suggested remedies and preventive measures to save oneself from bee attacks.

Be(e) careful
* Do not disturb a beehive
* Lie low and motionless on the ground in case of a bee attack
* Bees are attracted towards light
* Bees are attracted towards people wearing perfume or lipsticks

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