Saving the bee population

WHEN technician Raja Mohd Soffian Raja Ismail came across a beehive in his backyard of his hometown in Raub, Pahang, during the movement control order in 2021, he was intrigued and curious.

Most people would have shivered with fear, but the last thing he did was panic or harm the bees; instead he searched online on how to rescue the bees safely.

“I thought, what can I do to protect and rescue these bees instead of just driving them away?” he said.

He came across the MY Bee Savior Facebook page, clicked on the “like” button and read the postings on how to deal with and transfer beehives at home.

After a few interactions with the group, he was asked to join MY Bee Savior as a volunteer.

“I wasn’t interested to join the group at first, but eventually I did, and the first job on my own was in Bangi to rescue a bee colony in an urn.

“I braved through and was stung many times; it hurt a lot, but I resisted the pain,” Raja Soffian, 35, told StarMetro at the spacious garden of his rented home in Sungai Merab, Kajang.

It is here that the father of one rears the rescued bees since becoming a volunteer at MY Bee Savior.

He has so far rescued more than 50 beehives.

MY Bee Savior, with about 300 activists nationwide and the most active response team In Klang Valley, is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) initiated by Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) in 2015.

It has activists responding to homes or offices where hives are found to be relocated to a temporary bee sanctuary in the Mardi office in Serdang, Selangor.

The service is free, although MY Bee Savior does accept donations.

There is an endearing and genteel quality to Raja Soffian’s demeanour as he shows us around the garden where he is cultivating the bees in different wooden boxes for beekeeping purposes.

Three bee species he cultivates are the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) native to South, South-East and East Asia, red dwarf honey bee (Apis florea), and stingless bee or lebah kelulut, of which he has managed to derive honey.

In the last two years, he has come to be an expert in bee behaviour.

Red dwarf honey bees, known to be good, natural pollinators, prefer open areas and nest in trees, where each colony builds a single comb attached to a branch.

“This species won’t stay in a place permanently as they like to move about,” he added.

If you live in high-rise buildings and come across a beehive swarming on air-conditioning brackets and sliding doors, it is the red dwarf honey bees.

Asian honey bees, which are known to be disease-resistant, prefer dark, enclosed areas, even tree hollows and they build multiple combs arranged parallel to one another.

Each bee, from the male drone to queen and worker bee, has a specialised role in a colony.

“Swarming is a honey bee colony’s natural way of reproduction.

“In the process of swarming, a single colony can split into two and sometimes create more colonies.”

For honey bees, it is important to know that “colony” refers to the group of bees, while “hive” or “beehive” refers to the structure in which the colony lives.

Raja Soffian said all male bees are drones and without stingers, where the male bee’s only role is to mate with the queen bee.

A female bee may be a worker or a queen. A colony contains one queen and tens of thousands of worker bees.

He added that the other species of honey bees mostly found in Malaysia were giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) or lebah tualang which usually builds hives high up in trees and are aggressive, western honey bee (Apis mellifera) – a tame honey bee species that nests in box hives – and black dwarf honey bee (Apis andreniformis) which are a common wild honey bee and also the smallest of all species of honey bees.

Bees have feelings too

It is highly discouraged to spray poisonous aerosol (insect repellents) on beehives or set it on fire.

The most important thing for the public to do is not panic or disturb the beehive.

If a beehive is sprayed with insect repellent, the bees that survive will become aggressive upon seeing others killed.

On a foreign news portal, pollination ecologist Stephen Buchmann, who has studied bees for 40 years, said bees had complex feelings and could demonstrate sophisticated emotions commonly associated with mammals, and could even experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms.

According to Raja Soffian, it is also challenging for them to rescue beehives in high-rise buildings.

“We have two options; we can bring them home or chase them away humanely.

“If we have appropriate protective gear and equipment to climb, we will cut out the hive and bring it home.

“If it is too high and inaccessible, we will put diesel on a piece of cloth and rub it on the area where the bees are.

“In one or two days, the bees will disperse on their own,” he said.

Raja Soffian said there were steps people could take when they see a beehive in their home or office.

He advised people to take a photo of the hive with their smartphone.

Then send the photo to MY Bee Savior at 019-664 8081 or send a message to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/penyelamatlebah/

“We will then see what species it is and if it is dangerous, and discuss among us who can take the case.

“Depending on the complainant, some are agreeable to let the hive remain for a few days while others will insist that we remove it immediately,” he said.

MY Bee Savior will then deploy an activist to the site to examine the beehive and relocate it safely.

When Surita Maniam, 50, came across a beehive in her condo master bedroom toilet more than five years ago, she wished there was a group like MY Bee Savior back then to do the job in an ethical and humane way.

“I remember my husband had to call the exterminator, because at that time we did not know how to get rid of it.

“Two men came and set the beehive on fire. In hindsight, they showed no expertise to remove the bees in a humane way. I was devastated and cried seeing the dead bees everywhere.

“After that, we moved to a landed property with a garden and lots of flowers, and we have landscaping done for bees to come and go as they please. We will close the windows and leave them alone,” she said.

StarMetro had a chance to follow Raja Soffian to a complainant’s house in Kajang to rescue a bee colony in a letter box.

Nurse Yuzi Yati Yusuf, 42, a mother of three, said she noticed some bees flying about on her porch when she retrieved her letter three weeks ago.

“I didn’t know if there was a hive, so I ignored it.

“But a week later, my son opened the letter box and was shocked to see the beehive.

“My husband then called MY Bee Savior. We were afraid of the bees at first but we left them alone and unharmed.

“I feel happy that the bees are saved and we can protect them at the same time,” she said.

Vital role of bees

One third of the world’s crops depend on bee pollination, said MY Bee Savior president Dr Mohd Norowi Hamid, a retired biologist who was also Mardi research director before he retired.

“In fact, 90% of pollination is from bees. Butterflies and beetles also contribute but they don’t produce honey.

“Our aim and mission is to tell people we have to save bees for our livelihood too.

“It’s important that we place value on nature’s resources because without it, we won’t have clean water, and our forests will disappear.”

Increasing the survival of bees is MY Bee Savior’s ultimate priority, he said.

“If we can educate and create awareness to the public on conserving the bee population, we can also facilitate honey production,” he added.

For people who want to learn about bee conservation as a hobby, Mohd Norowi said the public can contact MY Bee Savior and work on a collective approach to handle beehives in a humane manner.

In a journal published in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, it said bees contribute to the global food supply via pollinating a wide range of crops, and bees are considered significant pollinators due to their effectiveness and wide availability.

“A lot of people are afraid of bees, but bees are not dangerous unless provoked. We want to hopefully change people’s mindset,” said Mohd Norowi.

He said MY Bee Savior also works closely with the Fire and Rescue Department on beehive rescue efforts.

“When people see bees, they will most likely call the Fire and Rescue Department or Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM).

“The departments get the information on the bees and they will inform us and we work together,” he added.

Mohd Norowi said MY Bee Savior also offers a course to APM and Fire and Rescue Department personnel on how to rescue bee hives.

“As an NGO, the hope is to reduce the decline in bee population and strengthen the ecosystem of humans and wildlife.

“Klang Valley has a high population, resulting in a high chance of bees and people meeting and co-existing.

“We need to educate everyone and live in harmony,” he said.