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KILLER BEES
Back in the 1950's, a South American agricultural scientist in Brazil wanted to improve honey production and his research favoured the introduction of queens of the species Apis mellifera scutellata (our other South African honey bee), so he imported 48 from the (old) Transvaal. This species is more productive (and much more aggressive) than our Cape honey bee and it was not long before a successful foundation of "Africanised" bee colonies were producing honey and other hive products well in excess of the original expectations of the scientist. Some South American countries have now in fact become net exporters of honey and hive products. The local population of honey bees in South America at the time the African bees were introduced was of European origin. Well, as bees will, the colonies started splitting and soon established themselves in the countryside outside the managed area of the Agricultural School which was the original apiary. These "feral" colonies then started spreading and very successfully. By 1981, colonies became established in Central America and by 1986, they had spread to Mexico and finally to the southern States in 1990. However, they carried with them the robust attitude and defensive tactics of their original A.m.scutellata queens' genes and complaints of attacks and even deaths of pets, animals and people were soon being reported. Efforts were made to try and remove the "bliksem" factor from the A.m.scutellata feral swarms but these were unsuccessful. In the end the productivity of the new strain overcame the dread of the "killer bees" and a general feeling of "if you can't beat them join them" followed. PC beekeepers now refer to these swarms as "Africanised" and not "killer" bees.
Banna ba Pifhu, or Children of the Wind, is the name of the wind farm proposed for Broadlands Farm, on the road to Humansdorp from St Francis Bay (between the Grasmere Ostrich boutique road and the Seekoei River dip).
The turbine capacity has not been settled yet, and the number of turbines could be as high as 28. If very big 3MW turbines are selected, the number could drop to 15. Either way, the landscape on the way to Humansdorp will be very different from today. How likely is it that it will be built? Well, it is a relatively late applicant in the area, with seven other companies further down the line. Four developers already have authorisation and another three are awaiting a decision from Environmental Affairs. The Banna ba Pifhu project is only at the Draft EIA stage – this was presented at a public meeting in Humansdorp on Tuesday. However, its small size may work in its favour, as the Melkhout substation has limited capacity. In addition, no new power lines would have to be installed, as the existing power line passes right through the site. One thing is certain, it will not be one of the preferred bidders to be announced on Monday (14 May), as it has a long process still to complete, starting with submission of the Final EIA in July. The Draft EIA is available on-line at www.publicprocess.co.za or it can be consulted at the Humansdorp or Jeffreys Bay libraries. |
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