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.

A Syawal Miracle

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.

19 July 2015 (3 Syawal 1436)