Honeybee, Apis cerana indica in the subsistence economy of the agency areas of East Godavari district, Andhr a Pradesh

The present study was aimed at recognizing and documenting the traditional knowledge and methods of beekeeping in the district of East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh. A structured questionnaire on different aspects of traditional beekeeping was administered to 1500 traditional beekeepers to collect data and their traditional methods from 7 agency Mandals during 2014–2015. Beekeeping with Apis cerana is a common practice in the district of East Godavari and has been mostly carried out through traditional methods. The bees are mainly kept in wall hives besides the logs and miscellaneous hives made from locally available materials. The people have indigenous knowledge of beekeeping which is passed from one generation to another. In hill areas of the district traditional hives are more suitable than modern hives but for the drawback of colony management. Modern beekeeping is infancy in the area therefore people need to be encouraged to use modern beehives for better management of colonies and to minimize loss in the form of the reuse of honey combs for rapid multiplication of A cerana colonies.