Aathira Haridas By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Right from his childhood days, all Binu P T came across were bee colonies. After his studies and a few years abroad, beekeeping and honey extraction came naturally to him. And ever since, Binu along with his father, has been jointly making new discoveries in the realms of beekeeping. In all, there are 1,800 colonies under the father-son duo with more than 100 stingless bee colonies thriving on the premises of their home. Close to 20 unique beehive models have been created till date. And a few of them are being exhibited in Binu's stall at the 11th National Bee Keepers' Meet and Honey Fest – 2019 presently being held in the city. A host of beehive models including their newly developed PVC pipe model beehive is exhibited. The PVC model looks like a steamed rice cake maker, with easily detachable portions. The honey gets collected automatically in the long tubular section inside the beehive which makes for easy extraction of honey. “The design is very different here. In normal cases, a lot of bees get killed or you lose out on the bees while extracting honey. Here, the honey gets collected in the long section and you can extract it without impacting the colony. The bees will carry forth their daily engagements as usual, whilst the honey gets extracted from the top through the cylindrical section. In essence, we are tricking the bees,” chuckles Binu, as he explains the model. It is not just beehives that vie for one's attention at Binu's stall. Binu who hails from Alakode in Kannur has brought a rare variety of bee- the white stingless bee. Showing the white propolis of the bee, Binu says how the honey generated is clear and colourless. “Everything is white, including the propolis, eggs and pollen. The amount of honey generated by the colony is very less, amounting to a maximum of 50 ml. It has medicinal properties and I brought the bee to introduce it to the people,” says Binu, an MBA graduate who specialises mostly in stingless bees. “People are not really exploring the prospects of rearing stingless bees. It is very easy to manage them,” he adds. The exhibition, which is currently on in VJT Hall, features stalls selling wide varieties of honey from across the state.

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