A romantic, sweet business in Muğla
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Jane Tuna
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 01, 2009 00:00
FETHİYE - The imagery of honey and bees is usually linked with flowers, but in Muğla Province, delicious honey is produced from a symbiotic relationship between honeybees, a tiny aphid insect and the red pine tree.
Ziya Şahin, the chairman of the Union of Muğla Beekeepers, is surrounded by pictures of bees, information about bees -- indeed, all anyone ever needed to know about the honey producers and their byproducts -- and anything connected with the fascinating world of the apiarist, or bee farmer. His office in Muğla, the capital of this southwestern Turkish province, is the union’s center of operations and it is immediately obvious that this man is both knowledgeable and passionate about his work. He explains the production and unique qualities of pine honey, saying: "We have a European market hungry for all the pine honey we can sell to them. Here in Muğla, we produce 75 percent of Turkey's pine honey. It is very important for us."
Rusty color
The red pine, or Pinus brutia, is indigenous to the eastern Mediterranean. Its bark is a dark, rusty color and it will grow on the rockiest slope and contend with the salty winds from the sea or the misty summits of mountainous areas. In fact, it thrives on anything Mother Nature can hurl at it. The trees host the benign aphid Marchalina hellenica, which fortuitously excretes an excess of a sugary substance that is 20 percent protein and 80 percent carbohydrate.
The production of pine honey is crucial to Muğla’s economy, and in 2008, the province hosted the First International Muğla Beekeeping and Pine Honey Congress. Şahin and the academic Dr. Ali İhsan Özturk presented a paper explaining the importance of beekeeping in the province. "Out of 398 villages É 294 of them have beekeeping as their main source of income and livelihood," it said.
It is therefore very discouraging to see some of the most productive areas threatened by incompatible industries. Some 42 licenses issued by the government in Ankara for mining and possible mineral extraction in the Marmaris area put pine-honey production at risk from the loss of trees and their aphids and from dust that can fatally damage the bee population.
Furthermore, the parasitic Varroa mite has taken a toll on the bee population worldwide and many pine trees are dying from infestation by the pine processionary caterpillar, which has itchy and unpleasant consequences for people and animals that come in contact with it. Its white "cotton wool" nests can be seen on the south-facing sides of unhealthy-looking pines. The caterpillars suck the life out of the trees and are very difficult to exterminate. Despite these unwelcome and potentially fatal predators, the Muğla bees and their keepers press on so that we can enjoy the fruits of their labors.
"This honey smells and tastes of pine resin, does not crystallize and is said to have medicinal qualities," said Şahin. "It is wonderful for easing sore throats and as a mild antiseptic dressing for wounds." Şahin looks so healthy, this must be the case.
He wishes that all beekeepers would join the Muğla union, as there is safety and strength in numbers and because the economic importance of this miraculous synthesis between aphid, tree, bee and man must be encouraged and protected at all costs. For more information on pine honey, visit www.maybir.org.tr.
Rusty color
The red pine, or Pinus brutia, is indigenous to the eastern Mediterranean. Its bark is a dark, rusty color and it will grow on the rockiest slope and contend with the salty winds from the sea or the misty summits of mountainous areas. In fact, it thrives on anything Mother Nature can hurl at it. The trees host the benign aphid Marchalina hellenica, which fortuitously excretes an excess of a sugary substance that is 20 percent protein and 80 percent carbohydrate.
The production of pine honey is crucial to Muğla’s economy, and in 2008, the province hosted the First International Muğla Beekeeping and Pine Honey Congress. Şahin and the academic Dr. Ali İhsan Özturk presented a paper explaining the importance of beekeeping in the province. "Out of 398 villages É 294 of them have beekeeping as their main source of income and livelihood," it said.
It is therefore very discouraging to see some of the most productive areas threatened by incompatible industries. Some 42 licenses issued by the government in Ankara for mining and possible mineral extraction in the Marmaris area put pine-honey production at risk from the loss of trees and their aphids and from dust that can fatally damage the bee population.
Furthermore, the parasitic Varroa mite has taken a toll on the bee population worldwide and many pine trees are dying from infestation by the pine processionary caterpillar, which has itchy and unpleasant consequences for people and animals that come in contact with it. Its white "cotton wool" nests can be seen on the south-facing sides of unhealthy-looking pines. The caterpillars suck the life out of the trees and are very difficult to exterminate. Despite these unwelcome and potentially fatal predators, the Muğla bees and their keepers press on so that we can enjoy the fruits of their labors.
"This honey smells and tastes of pine resin, does not crystallize and is said to have medicinal qualities," said Şahin. "It is wonderful for easing sore throats and as a mild antiseptic dressing for wounds." Şahin looks so healthy, this must be the case.
He wishes that all beekeepers would join the Muğla union, as there is safety and strength in numbers and because the economic importance of this miraculous synthesis between aphid, tree, bee and man must be encouraged and protected at all costs. For more information on pine honey, visit www.maybir.org.tr.