November Meeting with Dr. Punchihewa, Sri Lanka

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019 GENERAL MEETING

Apis Cerana Beekeeping in

Sri Lanka

WITH

Dr. Wasantha Punchihewa

Owner/Operator of the ThiSaBi Institute

in Sri Lanka

Dr. Punchihewa states “Sri Lanka is perhaps the only country in the world who does exclusive Apis Cerana beekeeping.” He will present Apis Cerana, cousin to our Apis Melifera's, in her natural tropical monsoonal environment, sharing the culture and apiculture aspects of managing this species.

In 1994 Dr. Punchihewa authored the first edition of his book entitled “Beekeeping for Honey Production in Sri Lanka” Management of Asiatic hive Honey Bee Apis Cerana in its natural monsoonal environment. He is currently the process of updating this book with his research and new findings from the last 25 years.

In 1974, as an undergraduate, he became involved in scientific beekeeping. This experience gave him a unique opportunity to interact with several scientists involved in Old World honeybees which piqued his interest and propelled him on.

After graduation, he worked as a career scientist for the Sri Lanka Dept of Agriculture on honeybee and beekeeping research and Professor at University of Ruhuna in Sri Lanka. Since 2016, he has been a Consultant Scientist to the Government of Sri Lanka on Biodiversity Conservation, Beekeeping Development, Honeybee Conservation/Utilization and Pollinator Conservation/Utilization.

At present, Dr. Wasantha is an organic farmer, beekeeper, founder, and owner/operator of the ThiSaBi Institute in Sri Lanka.