The Saddest Day for the Bilut Valley Beekeepers

It's been ten years since our last post on this blog - years that passed by so quickly but definitely without stories and drama. A decade of ups and downs, and of survival. 

One of the main reasons for this is a rather morbid experience that we had to go through as beekeepers. It's still difficult for us to recount this incident here but we hope that this story will be beneficial for others. 

 2016 - the year we posted our last entry, was the year we faced a truly harrowing experience. Even as this is being written, the pain and torment is still tearing at our hearts.

The two years before, we were working very hard to obtain 150 colonies of kelulut on the farm. In 2016 we were so close to reaching our target. Then tragedy struck. 

"The 2016 El Niño was one of the most severe weather phenomena on record in Malaysia, bringing extreme heatwaves, drought, and severe socioeconomic disruptions across the country" reported Al-Jazeera.

The El Niño had weakened the bees and their defenses, severely jeopardising the security and sanctuary of their hives. We, and many other kelulut beekeepers nationwide were taken by surprise by an invasion of the most feared pests of kelulut - black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens). The female flies found their way into the toppings and laid their eggs amongst the honey pots. Once this happened, the bees absconded to find another home.

An adult black soldier fly. It is easily identified by 

it's legs with white ends which make them look like they 

wear white boots.

Over the next few months, we had lost more than 100 hives. It was devastating to say the least. We struggled, physically, mentally, financially and most of all...emotionally. The thought of the bees having to find a new home to make their nests and having to leave their brood behind was unbearable. We reckon more than half the colonies could not survive the trauma of being forced to leave their nests and the journey to rehome.

We were also told to quickly destroy the affected hives to contain the proliferation of flies - by burning their log nests and toppings. This was done with such heavy hearts as we knew the young brood and eggs were still in the nests, plus guardian bees who were protecting them.

Aiman cutting down the log hives that house their nests. These 

were later burned to exterminate the eggs and larvae of the flies.

It was one of the saddest moments of our lives.

 

But we didn't falter, we didn't backdown or give up. We trudged on with whatever resources and colonies we had left. And today, the Bilut Valley Bee Farm brand still stands, and very soon, we will be upscaling our brand and our products, by Allah's will.

We are very certain that every beekeeper has a story to tell, and this is ours.