A Visit to the Bohol Bee Farm
To locate the Bohol Bee Farm, it is advantageous to remember that Luzon and Mindanao are the two largest islands of the Philippines. Luzon lies in the northern part of the country; Mindanao is situated in the south. Between these two giants are some medium-sized islands known as the Visayan Islands, one of which is Bohol.
Most Philippine islands are considerably smaller than Luzon, Mindanao, and the major Visayan Islands. One of these is Panglao, which is situated near the southwest corner of Bohol. Two bridges connect Bohol with Tagbilaran on the Bohol mainland. Tagbilaran is the capital city of the province of Bohol.
The Bohol Bee Farm is situated on the southern coast of Panglao, which actually slants from the southwest to the northeast. From the dining room of the Bee Farm, the view is terrific. In the distance, the Island of Siquijor is visible in the southwest. When the visibility is good, it is also possible to see the island of Camiguin in the southeast. Both Camiguin and Siquijor are smaller than Bohol; nevertheless, they have a respectable size.
The tiny island of Pamilacan is also visible from the Bee Farm. Whales and dolphins swim in the waters near this island. Its inhabitants used to engage in whaling, but the whales are now protected.
Soon after we arrived, we were treated to a tour. The guide showed us what plants they were cultivating and concluded with a lecture on honeybees. The guide was knowledgeable and spoke English well.
Included in his lecture were simple facts that most people know. For example, he told us that bees pollinate flowers and collect nectar from them. He also explained the differences between the queen, the workers, and the drones.
He then touched on more complex material. He explained the mating flight of the queen and pointed out that the six or eight drones that succeed in mating with her die soon afterwards because of damage they suffer while mating. He also explained how some bees are scouts that leave the hive to look for flowers and then return and use sign language to explain where the flowers are located and how many they are. For example, they use the waggle dance to explain in which direction the workers have to fly in order to find the flowers.
I myself wondered how the tropical climate affected the habits of the honeybees. I pointed out that in colder climates the workers chase the drones out of the hive in winter. I wondered whether something similar occurred in the tropics, where there was no frost. He replied that the drones were driven from the hive during the rainy season because the food supply was short at that time. The bees could not collect nectar during inclement weather.
At the time of this lecture, the Bee Farm had only one box of bees with ten frames. They used to have two boxes, but they had lost one several years before as the result of a super typhoon.
We were one of the last groups to see the bees in the remaining box. Three days later, I eavesdropped on another lecture given by a guide in Tagalog. He pointed out that the bees had recently left the hive. Apparently, the queen had been disturbed by a recent super typhoon locally known as Yolanda (also known as Haiyan). The queen took flight, and because of the pheromones that she emitted, practically all the workers followed her.
I imagine that they will try to do something to rectify the situation. After all, a bee farm without bees is anomalous. Perhaps they will try to raise a new queen artificially. In nature, when a queen dies or grows old, workers raise a new queen by feeding royal jelly to a larva. Beekeepers can do this work artificially by collecting royal jelly from eggs and feeding it to a larva. I do not know whether they will find these ingredients in the abandoned hive, nor do I know what other options are available to them.
It is possible that the workers of the runaway queen will return frequently to the Bee Farm, since the farm contains many plants from which bees can collect nectar. For example, there is plenty of basil, tarragon, oregano, and coriander.
The chief purpose of these and other plants is human consumption. In the restaurant, they use plants in unusual ways. In addition to lettuce and other normal ingredients, their salads contain bougainvillea and cosmos flowers. They incorporate tarragon in bread and an herb called malunggay in ice cream. Mangoes are used in a variety of ways, and a variety of herbs find their way into bread spreads and salad dressings.
Since we were in the general area, we wanted to see the Chocolate Hills and some tarsiers. We used the services offered by the Bee Farm to accomplish this end. They offered a tour that included these and other destinations. Since it was a rainy day, this proved to be advantageous. We had a vehicle and a driver at out disposal, so we did not have to get wet while searching for transportation from one place to another.
Our visit to the Bohol Bee Farm was enjoyable. My wife was sad when we had to leave.
