Welcome To FIA

Organised by the Federation of Indigenous Apiculturists (FIA), the festival has stalls put up by apiculturists from across the State displaying hives of stingless bees, Newton bees, honey extractors, and other honey production equipment.

Who Is FIA

FIA work to ensure a thriving and sustainable beekeeping development in Kerala and neighbouring states and also conservation of other pollinators. To this end we advocate for honey bees, pollinators, welfare of bee keepers, value addition of honey, development of hive products and research on honey bee health and high tech apiculture
FIA leads with well informed and skilled bee keepers , healthy and potential honey bees, a prosperous beekeeping scenario as well as wide spread appreciation for honey, hive/value added products  and the critical role that honey bees play in sustainable agriculture and food security.

Honey Bee Species

The Rock Bee, Apis Dorsata

They are giant bees found all over India in sub-mountainous regions up to an altitude of 2700 m. They construct single comb in open about 6 feet long and 3 feet deep .They shift the place of the colony often. Rock bees are ferocious and difficult to rear. They produce about 36 Kg honey per comb per year. These bees are the largest among the bees described.

The Indian Hive Bee, Apis Cerana Indica

They are the domesticated species, which construct multiple parallel combs with an average honey yield of 6-8 kg per colony per year. These bees are larger than Apis florae but smaller than Apis mellifera. They are more prone to swarming and absconding. They are native of India/Asia.

The Little Bee, Apis Florea

They build single vertical combs. They also construct comb in open of the size of palm in branches of bushes, hedges, buildings, caves, empty cases etc (Fig. 2). They produce about half a kilo of honey per year per hive. They are not rearable as they frequently change their place. The size of the bees is smallest among four Apis species described and smaller than Indian bee. They distribute only in plains and not in hills above 450 MSL.

The European or Italian Bee, Apis Mellifera

They are also similar in habits to Indian bees, which build parallel combs. They are bigger than all other honeybees except Apis dorsata. The average production per colony is 25-40 kg. They have been imported from European countries (Italy). They are less prone to swarming and absconding.

Dammer Bee or Stingless Bee, Melipona Irridipennis (Meliporidae)

Besides true honey bees, two species of stingless or dammer bees, viz. Melipona and Trigona occur in our country in abundance. These bees are much smaller than the true honey bees and build irregular combs of wax and resinous substances in crevices and hollow tree trunks. The stingless bees have the importance in the pollination of various food crops. They bite their enemies or intruders. It can be domesticated. But the honey yield per hive per year is only 100 gms

Meet Our Team

Mr. K. K. Thomas
Mr. K. K. ThomasPresident
Dr. Stephen Devanesan
Dr. Stephen DevanesanGeneral Secretary
Mr. John. S. A
Mr. John. S. ATreasurer