A tree full of honey

A tree full of honey

Staff Reporter

A survey in October 2007 showed the number of hives in the tree at 575



Unique: The banyan tree near Nandagudi in Hoskote taluk of Bangalore Rural district that has the ‘world’s largest number of beehives.’

BANGALORE: If one thought only buildings and forts get a heritage tag, here is a historic monument with a difference: a tree which houses a record number of beehives!

A unique banyan tree near Nandagudi in Hoskote taluk that has the “world’s largest number of beehives” — as many as 600 — is being pegged for an International Heritage Site tag.

The Institute for Natural Resources Conservation, Education, Research and Training (INCERT) is making efforts to get this matchless tree get recognised as an International Heritage Site so as to create awareness about the importance of this bee colony.

Speaking to The Hindu, M.S. Reddy, Reader, Department of Zoology, Bangalore University, said that the banyan tree was being monitored by apiculturists for more than a decade, and their records show that there were approximately 625 bee colonies around November 2005.

A survey conducted in October 2007 revealed the number of hives in the tree to be around 575. Dr. Reddy said: “The effort to recognise this tree as an International Heritage Site will not only help horticulture prosperity, but also play a vital role in protection of the environment and maintaining the ecological balance as bees, through pollination, help increase the biodiversity.”

The banyan tree is largely surrounded by eucalyptus trees whose flowers are a major source of nectar to the bees. During the monsoon, the size of the colony reduces as the rock bees migrate due to lack of flowering in the eucalyptus trees. Dr. Reddy said: “To prevent this migration, the villagers in the vicinity are being encouraged into agricultural activities like coconut plantations and floriculture which may help create sustenance to the bee colony. This is so that the bees may thrive on them round the year and do not have to migrate in the monsoon season.”

Even the villagers have stopped extracting honey for the past three years after they were informed that their unskilled methods of extraction led to the decline in the number of beehives, he added.