Penternak-penternak kelulut seperti kami sudah pastinya akan menghadapi masalah dengan pemangsa dan perosak seperti semut, cicak, kumbang dan sebagainya. Jika anda seperti kami, kami rasa berat hati untuk membunuh semut dan cuba mengelak dari membinasakan mereka. Tetapi apabila mereka datang satu koloni dan bersarang di dalam haif kelulut...aduhh...parah. Jika koloni kuat, mungkin kelulut boleh "counter attack" tetapi jika koloni lemah, mereka akan terus tinggalkan sarang dalam satu hari sahaja.
Nak sembur racun tak boleh...kelulut memang paling tak suka bahan kimia dan spray. Nak bubuh kapur ajaib takut juga, sudah tentu ada bahan-bahan kimia yang menjadikannya berkesan untuk menjauhkan semut. Kita pun tak mau makan madu dan beebread yang ada kesan-kesan bahan kimia. Kadang-kadang dah letak minyak hitam berkali-kali pun tak berkesan juga.
Jadi, ini adalah salah satu kaedah yang kami ingin berkongsi dan mungkin anda ingin mencubanya juga. Jika anda ada tanaman atau ternakan lain dan mengalami masalah yang sama turut boleh diamalkan. Malah jika ada jin yang mengganggu dalam rumah anda (manalah tau kan) maka boleh juga guna kaedah ini. Kaedah ini berdasarkan kepada perjanjian Nabi Sulaiman a.s. yang menguasai makhluk jin dan semua jenis binatang.
Askar-askar semut telah berkomunikasi dengan Nabi Sulaiman a.s. Gambar oleh Fauziah Shariff
Tetapi, apabila menggunapakai ayat-ayat Al-Quran seperti juga untuk tujuan lain, hati kita kenalah yakin, yakin pada kuasa Allah swt dan yakin yang Ia akan mendengar dua'a-dua'a kita dan membantu kita dengan cara yang tidak perlu menganiayai atau membunuh makhlukNya.
Caranya seperti berikut:
Pergi ke tempat ternakan kelulut dan ucapkan kata-kata berikut dengan suara yang boleh didengar.
"Assalamu'alaikum Wahai semut, cicak, kumbang, labah-labah, lalat, ular dan sebagainya (sebut dengan spesifik)... Ingatlah perjanjianmu dengan Nabi Sulaiman a.s.... Pergi engkau dari sini dan jangan ganggu kelulut-kelulutku dan jangan bersarang dan bertandang di sini. Jika engkau tidak mahu pergi, maka aku akan panggil Nabi Sulaiman a.s. ke sini." Kemudian baca Surah Saad ayat-ayat 35 (untuk gangguan jin baca hingga ayat 39)
Amalkan kaedah ini setiap hari, dengan izin dan kuasa Allah, akan selesai atau paling tidak berkuranglah masalah perosak dan pemangsa di kebun-kebun kita nanti. Inn syaa Allah.
Kami amat berterima kasih kepada Tuan Tasbi Amit dari Brunei Darussalam kerana berkongsi tip yang amat berkesan untuk menangkap cicak pada log kelulut. Baru sebulan kami guna kaedah ini populasi cicak sudah pun berkurang.
Ada juga terjumpa cengkerik dan kala jengking di kebun kami.
Tebuan tanah yang mempunyai sengatan maut. Gambar oleh Fauziah Shariff
Honey is loved and consumed by people all over the world, as an alternative to sugar in their beverage and confectionery, as a condiment to their sweets and desserts, as a beauty aid, and for many, for their medicinal and healing properties.
As meliponine honey contains high amounts of antioxidants, in fact the highest for phenolic acid, it's almost a panacea for ailments and diseases, even chronic ones as proven by extensive clinical and medical reserach. As such, it is our fervent wish to offer a premium brand of organic, raw honey that is hygienically harvested, stored and packed.
Good Beekeeping Practices (GBP) are strictly adhered to. Unlike in the United States where they have established a standard known as Best Management Practices for Beekeeping, our GBP is not a standard
regulated by any authority, simply because there is none in
existence in Malaysia. We had created a reference for ourselves, one which we impose on
ourselves.
No bare hands touching the insides of the toppings, please. We've seen enough of dirty fingernails of beekeepers in other bee farms. But the good side of seeing that, it had actually led us to be desirous of running our own farm.
The bottles of honey are quickly placed in a cooler bag. This is to avoid the heat from causing the honey to ferment which will make it frothy and taste rancid. Fermentation is inevitable when there is more than 18% moisture in the honey. Keeping the bottles in the cooler bag will reduce the process to the minimum during transportation from the farm to the clinic where the honey is bottled.
The bag is secured and pests like ants are kept safely away. Keeping them in this bag also keeps the sunlight from damaging the delicate honey. We want to be sure that the honey stays in it's raw form as closely as possible to ensure all the enzymes are kept intact.
For storage purposes, we use new, cleaned and sterlised bottles. They
are prepared the same way as the bottles that are used for packaging
which we had shown on Part 1
of this post. Call us snooty if you want but as we said earlier, we
won't compromise on hygiene so we do not want to use recycled containers
for this purpose. It has been known that some honey samples taken for an analysis had shown traces of foreign and hazardous matter such as lead, and it was suspected that the source was the storage container.
New, clean and fresh bottles for storing our honey that you take home.
Tools used to harvest the honey as well as those used in our meliponiculturing and beescaping activities are washed and sterilised regularly with a cleaning agent and an antiseptic. We choose Melamagic and Soluguard by The Melaleuca Company for these purposes as they are organic. This is one of the important procedures required under our own GBP
It is a seemingly simple procedure but it can prevent the
hives, toppings, plants and the whole farm in general from being
infested by fungus, parasites, and all other organisms that may destroy
the bees, the brood cells or the plants. If this happens, God forbid, it will be nothing less than a devastation. This is one of the many valuable lessons learnt at the Beescape Workshop.
Once the honey is brought back from the farm, it is kept in a chiller for not less than 48 hours before it
is packed in amber botlles. When they reach our consumers, they are to
be kept in refrigeration or in a cool place.
There is no heating
or dehydration process using heat as this may destroy precious enzymes
in the honey. This is the true definition of raw, unfiltered honey. This
is the honey we want you to experience and enjoy.
Last month we wrote about Beescape and the importance of this element in meliponiculture. This time, our post is focussed on the need for a meliponiculturist to be able to identify the different species of meliponines. Different species have different behaviours and different needs to survive and flourish, so it is of utmost importance to know the types of bees we are culturing.
To be really successful in meliponiculture, a serious meliponiculturist needs to be widely knowledgeble about the subject and everything related to it. In order to make the honey industry in Malaysia sustain in the long term and to achieve global acceptance of our products, we should aim to be real professionals in this field.
Without having the relevant knowledge, it would be impossible to maintain a consistent supply of good quality honey. Worse yet, mismanagement and poor management of meliponines will result in a decline in their population, not only reducing the production of honey but upsetting the very ecosystem that we survive on.
Many colonies, perhaps in the thousands by now, have been destroyed because people were ignorant about the species they were culturing and the types
of trees and resins that are required by them. The species from the genus Tetrigona for example, have a unique hive building system, in that they require resin from Dipterocarp trees. The entrances, honey pots and pillars are hard and brittle, thus they are dubbed the crystal species. Many colonies of this genus have been removed from their natural habitat and carelessly an ignorantly cultured in a location void of any source of resin, resulting in the meliponines being forced to find alternative sources, failing which the colony will just collapse.
Beescape is the most crucial aspect of meliponiculture yet it is almost always overlooked by stingless bee enthusiasts, hobbyists and meliponiculturists even. The sustainability of stingless bee colonies depends largely on the beescape yet the subject is often ignored or not taken seriously enough.
Many meliponiculturists focus on honey production and ultimately the income from the sales of honey. The meliponines are usually placed in an area where source of nectar is available, but more often than not, it is far from sufficient in the long term. Many have experienced that in just over a year or two, honey production and even worse, the population of bees start to dwindle, and in the end, the whole colony collapses or absconds.
Stingless bees are considered as generalists; they forage on a wide variety of flowers. From a medicinal and nutritional point of view, the wider the variety of nectar available for foraging, the higher the value of the honey. Besides nectar, meliponines also need resin to produce propolis, of which their pots to retain and store their honey are made of. Then there are other elements to be considered such as pollen, water, minerals and floral oils that are required by each colony to make up their whole system.
As meliponiculturists, we are responsible in ensuring that our meliponines have more than enough resources for all these elements. But knowlege and information on all these is scarce. Meliponiculture and the studies on stingless bees in Malaysia is recent and rather limited. Many meliponiculturists depend on trial and error methods and results may be positive or disastrous. But as the population of stingless bee is fast reducing, we cannot afford to be dependant on mere experience and methods that are not tried and tested.
Bilut Valley Bee Farm had acquired some knowledge on beescaping and the positive effects from the implementation of what had been learnt was evident within a couple of months. The evidence is in the yield and more importantly, the population and the vibrant activity of bees on the farm. We were also delighted to have spotted a species different from the ones we culture, signifying that the farm is conducive enough to attract other colonies to breed there.
Pests and predators is also a topic in beescape which should be taken very seriousl. If meliponiculturists aren't familiar or are oblivious to them, it could be disastrous as an invasion could wipeout a colony in just a matter of 24 hours.
I was cleaning out an open shelf in the kitchen this morning when I saw a bee amongst the bottles. She was still alive and crawling but she couldn't fly; she must have been there a day or two at least. She looked dehydrated and a little lifeless, and she didn't buzz.
A picture of an Apis cerana taken in Segamat, Johor
I often find stranded bees in the house, usually in the kitchen as they mostly come from the back where there are huge trees on which they normally make their hives. Usually they're from the Apis cerana species and so was this little one. And as always, I'd put a little honey in a spoon and place the bee in it for her to replenish her energy. She quickly rushed to it, and out of apparent hunger and thirst she dived right into the pool of honey and got her whole body drenched in the sticky fluid. I had always wanted to capture the response of stranded bees when they are being offered honey, so I had my phone in my right hand taking a video while holding the spoon with my left. And in doing so, I wasn't quick enough to save the bee from drowning herself when she went for the honey.
The bee had quickly gone for the honey but in her haste, had plunged
right into the pool. She must have been extremely hungry and thirsty.
I quickly got her out of the sticky honey which by then had enveloped her whole body. I took her out from the spoon and laid her on a piece of tissue so it would absorb all the honey.
But I was too late...the little bee had stopped moving and was laying lifeless on the tissue. I was dumbstruck. I was supposed to save her not kill her. Oh no! What have I done??
I couldn't believe what had just happened. It happened so fast. I nudged her...and thankfully her legs moved. She's alive! She's still alive!! I had to do something...I HAD to save her. She is one of Allah's chosen creatures, so highly-regarded that one of the chapters in the glorious Quran is named after her.
Yes...that's it. In the Quran, Allah swt mentioned that He gives them the inspiration to build their hives, natural or man-made. They are given the command to produce honey by processing nectar in their stomachs, the end result being a precious substance that is medicine for humans. And so the bees obey the command of their Creator with utmost loyalty and subservience. With this in mind, I thought, surely this little bee will respond to His name.
So since it was the third day of Syawal, and I had the late Ustaz Asri's beautiful rendition of the Eid takbir at the top of my playlist, I turned on the video at Youtube.I played it on my handphone and placed it right beside her. Can you guess what happened?
Yes, she started to move; her legs uncurled and and she turned upwards. By the end of the takbir, she was standing upright on her legs. The video was six minutes. I played the takbir a second time. Watch the video below which says it all.
The bee started crawling around albeit a lit groggily, but she was definitely alive and well. I had thought I had lost her. But she revived and responded to the sounds of the glorifying of her Creator. I wish I had captured the moment on video, but couldn't as I was using the phone to play the takbir.
She crawled around looking a little desperate, even refusing the honey being offered to her. So I let her choose her own way and let her be. Next thing I knew, she had jumped to the floor and was crawling very quickly towards the door to the outside. She couldn't even manage to fly, yet she looked like she was in such a hurry, I can only guess that when she heard the name of her Lord, she remembered what the purpose of her existence was. She had a duty commanded by God Himself, and so she continued with her struggle and her journey to serve Him to the best of her ability. That is the sole purpose of her whole being.
The haunting and heart-wrenching but melodious takbir,
recited by Muslims on Eid-ul-fitr and Eid-ul-adha in which Allah swt is glorified. Praises only to Allah, for the miracle He showed me today.
Posted by Aniza Zain Ahmed for Bilut Valley Bee Farm.
So much has been said about the medicinal benefits of meliponine honey, proven by clinical and laboratory tests conducted by various universities and agencies in Malaysia. We decided to put it to test ourselves in our clinic run by alternative medicine practitioner Dr. Aniza Zain Ahmed.
A female patient, in her fifties had approached us for treatment for eczema on both her legs. She had a previous history eczema and due to recent environmental changes in her work, in addition to stress and hormonal changes, the problem recurred. She had been suffering from this condition for the last three months in which she had tried various natural medicines to no avail.
When we met her on the 11th of June, the eczema was already at chronic stage, her legs were sore, red, swollen and inflamed. The skin was thick and crusted and where it cracked, there was stinging pain. From inside the leg, she felt a throbbing pain. She was feeling miserable, and had been unable to sleep for quite a while now. Her left leg was in worse condition than her right; it was so bad that she did not allow us to show it here.
The affected areas were first carefully cleaned with cider vinegar, a powerful natural antiseptic. We then applied a thin layer of raw, fresh meliponine honey all over the affected areas. Her feet were then bandaged to protect the parts of her skin which were open due to the severity of the eczema.
Meliponine honey has powerful antibacterial and anti-inflammation properties besides containing loads of antioxidants.
Only two substances were used to treat the skin, cider vinegar as an antiseptic (above) and meliponine honey (right).
The patient was asked to repeat the simple procedure
at home before sleeping. She was instructed to apply only a light bandage to allow the skin to breath and heal faster.
Imagine her relief and delight when she woke up in the
morning, the pain was almost gone and her legs felt light. The swelling had subsided considerably. Much to her surprise, the eczema had dried and parts of the skin was already starting to peel off.
12th of June, a day after treatment started. This is the patient's left leg.
13 June - most parts of the skin had dried and come off, revealing new, smooth skin.
18 June - a week after treatment commenced, the skin is 80% healed.
25 June - the eczema had cleared up completely after just about two weeks of treatment.
The patient was also advised to drink lots of plain water and cider vinegar with water to detoxify her body. She was also given propolis to take orally to strengthen her immune system.
Important note**
This article does not intend to serve as a guide for self-treatment of this condition. Chronic eczema should only be treated by a professional medical practitioner.
When enthusiasts of meliponines meet, there is no saying what could happen. We were in the last leg of the Le Tour De Kelulut - Jelajah Selatan when the idea of shooting to Bilut Valley cropped up. We had travelled through the states of Negeri Sembilan, Melaka down to Masai, the most southern tip of the peninsula in Johor. Then up north again towards Mersing, Kluang, Segamat and back into Negeri Sembilan via Bahau.
Travelling with us in that tour was a team from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and they were to break off from the convoy in Bahau as it was the nearest exit back to Marang where the university is situated. They had expressed interest in visiting our farm, especially because we had on our farm a rather rare species known as Heterotrigona erythrogastra. As Bilut Valley Bee Farm totally and wholeheartedly supports scientific research, we didn't hesitate in deciding to divert to Bilut Valley to take the UMT team to our farm.
5th of May, Tuesday was to be the last day of the Southern Route of the tour, We were in Segamat, Johor that morning and had moved to Bahau, Negeri Sembilan where we visited a farm and enjoyed a sumptuous lunch prepared by our gracious host, Puan Ehwani.. We eventually left Bahau after 4pm, It is a 3-hour drive to Bilut Valley and that would mean we would have to drive non-stop to arrive while there is still some daylight left. The UMT Team weren't the least deterred.
Dusk was setting when we arrived Raub and our visitors noticed how beautiful the scenery was at that time of the day. We stopped at our halfway house in the village of Bilut Valley and performed the compulsory evening prayers before the research assistants quickly got into action. Two of them, Muhammad Firdaus and Fatin Farhana stayed back at the house as that was where we kept our Tetrigona or crystal species. They were to take specimens from the five colonies we had there including one of the extremely aggressive T.canifrons species.
The head of the team, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shamsul Bahri Abdul Razak and another two of his assistants Roziah Ghazi and Siti Asma' headed for the farm where the most of the meliponines are cultured. It was already dark by then, but it didn't stop them from going up to the farm which has no electricity. We had the highest respect for them all - their commitment and dedication towards their jobs and achieving their objectives really had us in awe. The situation was the same amongst the participants of the tour which was headed by Tuan Abu Hassan Jalil in the last four days. We felt so honoured to be working with the individuals and teams of this calibre.
Pix above, Prof. Shamsul and team inspecting a hive where a colony of apis (honey bees) had invaded a stingless bee colony, and then was joined by another smaller but feisty species of stingless bees. They now co-habit in different spaces of the same log.
Once at the farm, they headed straight for the H. erythrogastra colony. They seemed to be delighted to have finally obtained specimens and pictures of this species. And we were more than happy to oblige. Prof. Shamsul was also interested to take a look at our colony of T. melanoleuca which is not that rare but researchers are interested to look into possible variants in specimens from different locations in the country.
We found it amazing that all the three of them, Prof . Shamsul, Roziah and Asma, had felt the ambiance at the farm even in the darkness. All they could see was the silhouette of the hills in the distant horizon, when there was just a hint of daylight left that painted the sky in many different lovely hues of orange, red and blue. They knew it was a beautiful place. And they vowed to come again.
The UMT Research Team with the Bilut Valley Bee Farm Team From left Aiman, Firdaus, Prof. Shamsul. Marzia, Aniza, Asma, Fauziah, Fatin and Roziah. It was a long day and we were still not quite done. The UMT Team were headed back to Terengganu that night which is another 4 hours drive. But our smiles say it all, it was a wonderful occasion for both our teams,and a beginning of many good things to come, insya Allah.
The video above was produced by none other than Prof. Dr. Shamsul Bahri himself.
A showcase of superb macro shots by Bilut Valley Bee Farm's macro photographer Gee Shariff.
Featured here is a species from the genus Lepidotrigona of which name is derived from the word "lepido" which means"scales". Species in this genus have very significant scales in yellow or white that frame the scutum of the meliponine. The species here is named doipaensis.
In this first part, we show you how we treat our bottles before honey is stored in them. Bilut Valley Bee Farm strives to give you, our beloved honey lover, the highest quality of honey possible. There are many aspects to ensuring this and one of the crucial factors in the quality control process is how the honey is packaged and stored in bottles. Here, we show you how we prepare the bottles that keep your precious honey which is enriched with goodness, and we want to make sure it is maintained that way.
We insist on using dark bottles, as these are the best to filter UV light that could damage the properties of the honey and cause oxidisation. They're difficult to obtain and a little pricey compared to clear bottles, but we want only the best for you.
The bottles are first washed with a cleanser and then thoroughly rinsed in a disinfectant, both containing tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is scientifically proven to be a powerful antiseptic. We don't want to use detergents which may have hazardous chemicals, because we have your health and safety in mind.
We use a range of solutions by Melaleuca, which again, is more expensive than normal detergents, but they don't contain any hazardous chemicals. Yet they are effective enough to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses on hard surfaces.
After the bottles are dry, they are put in this sterilising unit to ensure that the bottles are really clean, enough so the honey stored in them can be used to treat wounds even.
Quite a tedious process but Bilut Valley Bee FarmHoney promises the highest quality product that is hygienic and safe for your consumption.
And finally, the cap is sealed and secured so you're certain your bottle has not been opened by someone who put his nose at the opening to take a sniff at the honey!
A showcase of superb macro shots by Bilut Valley Bee Farm macro photographer Gee Shariff.
The second species featured in the series is the Heterotrigona itama. This is the most common species cultured for their honey and it's the same for Bilut Valley Bee Farm. We have almost 100 colonies at our farm now.
The stingless bees fraternity in Malaysia is rapidly growing as more people are aware of the benefits of the honey and how relatively easy it is to culture them compared to the common honey bees. While it is heartening to know that there is more pure, local honey made available by the increase in bee farmers, it raises the issue of how well-informed they are in ensuring the bees are properly cultured and that there is sustainability in the long term. There are also concerns that trees are logged in large numbers to get the stingless bee colonies by irresponsible, greedy and unscrupulous traders.
With this grave concern in mind, Tuan Abu Hassan Jalil or Pak Abu as he is known to most, had taken the initiative to make visits to bee farms and even those who rear meliponines on a small scale to share, educate and provide as much knowledge on Good Bee Practices. With a group of enthusiasts comprising mainly participants in the workshops he conducts, Pak Abu started with a roadshow to the Northern region of the peninsula in March this year followed by the Southern region in early May.
Come June, it was the turn of the East Coast region and Bilut Valley Bee Farm was scheduled to be the first stop on this itenerary. We played host to the convoy from the Le Tour de Kelulut, Jelajah Pantai Timur on Saturday 6th of June, 2015 and they were expected to arrive at 9a.m.
We were very fortunate because this tour was joined by Prof. Dr. Hajah Siti Salmah Idrus from University Andalas in Padang, Indonesia. She was accompanied by her husband Dr. Idrus and their grand-daughter Anggi. Prof. Siti Salmah had done extensive research on meliponines and had worked with renowned researchers in a similar field. A sprightly 80-year, she had completed the whole tour which took four days, and in each of the four days, the tour ended late at night.
Among the objectives of the Road Tours are:
To meet with meliponiculturists and enthusiasts to discuss current issues.
To compile current meliponiculture techniques to derive an SOP.
To compile a list of FAQs.
To propose a petition for the formation of a Bee Council to set standards of meliponine based products, it's certification and enforcement.
To provide consultancy services where necessary
To collect honey sampling for lab tests by representatives of UiTM Puncak Alam and UMT researchers and students.
To collect honey samples for Ranking of Honey packages based on colour, taste, labels and guided by lab test reults
To collect specimens to study variation in species especially from the genus Tetragonula.
Pak Abu giving tips and advice on meliponicultureand Good Bee Practices. His love and passion for meliponines ishis only reason for doing this. And that says a lot about his commitment towards the conservation of what is to him, a national treasure. In the background in red cap is Hj Zolkaplie Mustafa, one of the 8000 aborists in the world.
Pak Abu with the COO of BVBF listening intently to what the expert has to say
Pak Abu with a species he named Marziacea sweetinea
A very good experience from the tour, we get to see actual conditions on each others' farms and we are able to discuss a problem and provide a solution if necessary. Seen here are standing, Ariff Amri, sitting right, Hj, Najib and Zaki on the left. Along with a few others under the tutelage of Pak Abu, they share their knowledge and experience so generously. A great show of camaraderie brought about by a mutual love for meliponines.
Our neighbour and fellow meliponiculturist from Raub, Azrulwith his father
We served freshly made grilled chicken sandwiches and salad with dressings that contained meliponine honey
From left, Pak Abu, Wak Abdul Aziz, Prof. Siti, Dr. Idrus and Anggi
Ariff Amri owner of Humaira Honey
Nur Raziana and her husband Wan. Nana is an orang asli from the Mah Meri tribe. She is one of the most hardworking, resourceful and proactive woman we've seen.
This is lovely photo of our garden on the farm by Nana
Aiman showing off the topping he had made using a design suggested by Pak Abu. The joints of the topping are overlapping so they are more secure for the meliponines against predators. When conditions in the topping are conducive, they will quickly work upwards to make honey pots
Mmm...delicously marinated with honey and grilled by our chef Hadi
Zaki from Meru, Klang
Hj Najib with his cutie daughter Raisya
From left, Datin Aimi, a partner of BVBF, Aniza and Prof Siti Salmah
Wak Abdul Aziz, Pak Abu's right wing man
Fuad without his wife Zurita
Jalur Gemilang on the farm
Pak Abu inspecting the hives. He is probably the only expert in beescape in the country and his greatest concern is that this aspect in meliponiculture is not looked into seriously enough.
Aniza explaining how honey is made, stored and taken from the involucrum or propolis structure in the topping
Thank you to Pak Abu and everyone for visiting our farm. Hope to see the rest of you very soon!
