Apicultural Practices in Nigeria: Beekeeping Methods, Bee Plants and Honey Quality Assessment

In spite of the worldwide acknowledgment of apiculture as panacea to poverty, commercialization of beekeeping in Nigeria has not been appreciably exploited. The apparent low rate of investment is largely due to dearth of research work on apicultural management and as well as poor beekeeping skills of the people. This book determined the attitude of beekeepers towards beekeeping practices in South-western Nigeria; identified the apicultural skills involved in a successful beekeeping venture; assessed the beekeepers? level of knowledge of beekeeping; documented the floral resources of honeybees in South-western Nigeria; appraised the ethno-medicinal and religio-cultural uses of honey and other bee products, and determined the physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of honey from different retail outlets with a view to determining the quality of honey on sale in South-western Nigeria. This book will meet the needs of undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Apiculture as well as beekeepers. It will also challenge Research Entomologists to conduct further research on honeybees for higher productivity.