Sanghamitra Purkait , Anindya Basu
Apiculture industry is very closely linked with the
environment. Without nature, apiculture is impossible and without bees i.e. the
main agent of apiculture, nature will be in a disorder. Beekeeping as an
agricultural activity constitutes many aspects which are impacted by
environmental and geographical factors. Beekeeping is also important for wide
economical aspect of honey production and the essential ecological services
provided by honeybees. In modern beekeeping the quick identification of honey
flow regions with maximized productivity can help the apiculture industry for
increasing total honey production. The main issue of beekeepers is to ensure
regular supply of food to their bees mainly by migrating the colonies in
flowering areas. In this article West Bengal has been selected as a study area
as it stands at second position nationally in terms of production of honey at
present. West Bengal has several ‘bee pasturage’ with different ‘honey flow
periods’ and different ‘dearth periods’ across the seasons. Migration paths has
been described through the use of Arc-GIS 10.5 software. This study will help
the beekeepers of West Bengal to remove the asymmetry of information on bee
pasturage and to access the suitable migration path for them which in turn will
help to develop the apiculture industry.
Apiculture, Honey flow, Bee pasturage, Migration
Period and Dearth period.
VOL.14, ISSUE No.1, March 2022