It marked the thorax of a newly hatched queen bee with a green marker. In a tiny cage, plugged with wax, he would put her in an orphan hive. Little by little the workers would be in charge of freeing her and through contact between them make her the new monarch.
That is just one of the many tasks that Reinol Díaz García performs every day. With 240 hives, 200 fertilization nuclei and a genetics center, it is a producer of honey, queen bees, wax, royal jelly, propolis and pollen, this last element of new incorporation in Pinar del Río.
A VOCATION THAT MAKES FRUIT
For more than 20 years, Reinol has been dedicated to beekeeping, an activity that was his vocation since he was a child. “It is not a family tradition, but I have always lived in the countryside and since I was little I was curious. Then I had the opportunity to study. I am a Biological Sciences graduate from the University of Havana. I finished in 1995, but since ’93 I made the first contract with the beekeeping company, still being a student “.
It has been able to produce significant volumes of honey, wax and propolis for several years, a success that is marked by advances in technology and the stimulus of new prices.
“Premium honey is paid at 35,000 pesos per ton. This year I have 14 contracted, I have been producing around 20 for some time, we hope that at this rate we will exceed that figure in 2021 and break the production record “.
Although the COVID-19 situation has affected the mobility of beekeepers to pay attention to the hives and some resources are scarce due to the current economic context, Reinol affirms that there are always alternatives and solutions so that it does not influence so much in daily work.
“The routines are of revision, of achieving an adequate management and a timely change of queen bee. They also include the renewal of the brood chamber, hive feeding, and transhumance that are very important, since we move them to places where there is an intense and continuous flowering. The good harvests are depending on the transhumance “.
The La Torre queen bee breeding center, located in Entronque de Las Ovas, is one of the three in the province. The remaining two are in Cabo de San Antonio and in Consolación del Sur.
With marked dexterity Reinol prepares the implements to enter the hives and place the new monarchs. During the process, he explains to us that the smoke does not stun the bees, as many think, but that for them it is a sign that there is a fire nearby and they instinctively try to enter to supply themselves in case they have to leave their home.
“The queen bee rearing activity is the most specialized of all, because it has several requirements, one of which is to have at least 10 years of experience in beekeeping. It is very important because all production depends on it “.
In a small wooden cage, place a queen bee with other workers. That takes her to another destination, but she needs company to feed her during the time she will be out of the hive, since newborns do not know how to eat.
“Don’t they bite him?” I ask him when I see how he walks on his hand.
“Queens don’t sting, they just use the stinger against another queen bee. The others yes, they bite me daily, but their poison is medicinal “, smiles and elaborates on the marking process and other questions that come up in the conversation.
“A worker bee lives for about two months or so. The queens, from the productive point of view one year, but in nature they last four or five. They are marked to distinguish them from the others and to know their age, there is a marking system that, depending on the five-year period, has a different color “.
And speaking of colors clarifies another of our doubts: “The bees distinguish them very well, that is one of the reasons why the hive elements are painted differently, because that way they are better oriented. Of course, also to protect them and make them more durable and even from an aesthetic point of view “.
A GOOD YEAR
In the province there are 44 beekeepers linked to five production structures. Among them a CSS located in Entronque de Herradura that groups 14 beekeepers and is the only one completely dedicated to these tasks in the country.
The UEB Beekeeping Company of Pinar del Río is in charge of collecting and buying the productions that they pay for within 30 days and sending them to the processing plant, in addition to selling the inputs to the producers. This year the plan is 532 tonnes, a possible figure given the good production rate they have.
Although most of the honey from Pinar del Río is exportable, a volume is destined for the drug factory and another for sale to the population, which in this time of pandemic is taken to the work centers for commercialization.
“This year has been very good, the rains at the end of 2020 strengthened the flowering. In February and March the bush and the baría have set the rhythm of production. We closed the month of March with records never before reached “said Bárbaro Prieto Acanda, director of the UEB.
He added that they are now concentrating on the transfer of more than 5,000 hives to the coast, since in April and May there are important mangrove and pataban blooms, among other species.
In addition to honey, wax, propolis and royal jelly, they venture into the production of pollen, an area with which they had an experience in the 1980s and which is now being taken up again given its medical and nutritional potentialities.
“It began in a group of producers, but we intend to extend it to all of us as soon as we manage to elaborate the traps used for their collection in the national industry, because they are imported”, stressed Prieto Acanda.
Likewise, preparations are being made for the production of the poison and for the breeding of honeybees or land bees, and they already have all the training manuals for producers who decide to join the Company.
Queens, workers and drones do their part in the 12,000 hives that the Pinar del Río territory has, seeking the highest possible efficiency in production is in the hands of beekeepers, who, without a doubt, are on the right track.
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