The study was conducted in West and East Gojjam Zones of Amhara Region Ethiopia to determine commonly used agro-chemicals and timing of applications, their effects on honeybee by itself and beekeeper farmers used cultural practices to minimize agro-chemical side effects on honeybee; Questionnaire survey methods, key informants interview and focus group discussion were used for the study. In the questionnaire survey, 384 respondent beekeepers from 4 Woredas, 20 Kebeles (376 male and 8 female) were interviewed. Descriptive, frequency with SPSS version 20 were used. The majority of farmers spray herbicides before blooming in August and insecticides at diseases and pests observed in October, November and December. Surprisingly, almost all respondents interviewed (98.7%) have confirmed that they know the negative effects of agro-chemicals on the health status and life of the honeybee. Apparently pesticides have been causing considerable damage by killing honeybees and causing yield decline due to miss use of agrochemicals. 90.9% of the non-beekeepers who use agro-chemical had no willingness to use non-chemical or alternative mechanisms to control pests and weeds. The main reported reason for the non-beekeepers not informing others about their plan to apply agro-chemicals is their laziness and jealousy; only 8.1% of respondents have willingness to use non-chemical or cultural weed and pest control mechanisms to save honeybee colonies as well as to keep their farmlands as organic. Overall the level of cooperation between beekeepers and non-beekeepers with regard to responsible use of agro-chemicals is very weak and certainly not considerate of mutual benefits and environmental protection. Essential to capacitate beekeepers in terms of technical knowledge and skills to better manage and need concerted action to develop appropriate agrochemical application modalities that minimize side effects on honeybees and economic losses would be recommended.

The study was conducted in Southern Region South Omo Zone Southern Ethiopia to understand agro-ecological distribution of stingless bee and their management practices, socio-economic importance of stingless bees and characterize the physico-chemical properties of honey produced from stingless bees (Meliponula beccarii). Purposive sampling techniques were used to select participants in the FDG. Three FGD per district comprised with 10–12 stingless bee keepers were undertaken for understanding of agro ecological distribution, local knowledge, management practices and socio-economic importance of stingless bees. Honey samples were collected from underground soils through an excavation of natural nests from three representative districts namely Debub Ari, Malee and Bena-Tsemay districts and about 15 honey samples 0.5 liter from each nest was collected for physico-chemical analysis. The two recorded stingless bee species in the study area were Meliponula beccarii and Hypotrigona gribodoi. The two species of stingless bees are varied within their body size, nesting habitats, nest structure and nest site. The productivity of stingless bees varies depending on species, availability of bee forage and the size of the stingless bee colony population. The laboratory result of locally produced stingless bee honey had moisture content, pH, acidity, ash content, Hydroxy Methyl Furfural (HMF), Fructosr, Glucose and Sucrose average contents were 32.59 percent, 3.42 per cent, 113.57 meq/kg, 0.27 g/100 g, 3.51 mq/kg, 29.11%, 29.29% and 2.78%, respectively. Stingless bee keeping practicing in the backyard through trained the beekeepers and using of naturally designed model stingless bee hives.