The world is full of miracles, most of which many people have not heard and do not know. One of these phenomena can safely be attributed to the Himalayan bees, along with the ancient profession of mountain Nepal, called "honey hunters." Rare travelers climb so high into the mountains and chat with the locals. Even fewer Europeans who were able to observe the “hunt”, experience unimaginable delight and respect, and then tell about what they saw.
Himalayan bees: sizes and varieties
Several species of these insects live in the mountains. It is noteworthy that they are geographically separated. Each variety has occupied its range and far beyond its limits is not removed. Of particular interest are the dwarf Himalayan bees, Apis florea. Above a kilometer above sea level, they do not fly, they build a house from one honeycomb, clinging to the whole branch. Their "yield" is low, up to a kilogram of honey per year, but they are excellent pollinators.
Himalayan bees of the Apis Cerana species are also not too melliferous - five kilos of honey from the family. But they have a lot of advantages: they are very peaceful (decks-hives can be located directly in the niches of the walls of residential buildings), are not affected by ticks and are well protected from hornet attacks. They have the usual sizes, and in Nepal are considered the most promising for the flight.
The next view is Apis dorsata. These Himalayan bees are very large, due to which local people sometimes call them queen bees. They also build single-cell hives; in each I can coexist up to hundreds of families, and the nest sometimes reaches two tens of kilograms by weight. Often, under the hive, bees occupy artificial objects - towers, bridges or buildings.
Laborioza: description
However, Himalayan bees are most attractive both from the point of view of honey bearing and biological characteristics. These are the largest insects of this kind, their body reaches three centimeters in length. Laborioza coloration is not very typical for a bee: the insect is rather black, with white stripes on the abdominal segments. This species of bee inhabits only in the Himalayan valleys, occupying territories from the eastern Mekong to the northern regions of Nepal, India and Bhutan.
The largest bee and its behavioral characteristics
Life laborioza has a strict schedule. In spring, the bees rise very high into the mountains, reaching the mark of 4 thousand meters. There they equip a huge nest, sometimes reaching a meter in length and width. Here they swarm and collect a valuable product, and the honey of Himalayan bees of this variety is "stored" in only one corner of their home. He is gaining up to 60 kilograms from the hive. At the end of summer, bees curtail their activities and descend into the valleys, to a height of one kilometer to one and a half above sea level. Here they hibernate, forming whole clusters of living, but not building a honeycomb and reducing activity to a minimum.
Mad Honey
What is famous for the largest Himalayan bees - hallucinogenic honey. You can’t buy it at the nearest supermarket, and it costs a lot. The special properties of the product are explained by the fact that only high-altitude laboriasis has the ability to collect nectar from the flowers of rhododendron. A number of varieties of this plant secrete andromedotoxin during flowering. In large quantities, it is toxic to humans.
Honey collected from rhododendrons gains very strong properties. It is considered a recreational drug and a powerful hallucinogen. However, at the same time, it also has medicinal qualities that successfully help in the fight against diabetes, hypertension and other serious diseases. Of course, you can take "crazy honey" only in very small doses. Exceeding them can lead to death.
In small amounts, honey gives intoxication, a feeling of relaxation, slight dizziness and elation.
Rhododendrons do not bloom year-round, and the hallucinogenic honey of Himalayan bees gets its properties only during the spring harvest. Honey collected at the end of summer is tasty and healthy, but it does not carry madness with itself.
Honey hunt
In the mountains of Nepal there is a nation called gurung. The main profession of men of this tribe is hunting for wild honey. All of them are excellent climbers, and for gurungs this is not a sport, but a vital necessity.
Children engage in hunting from an early age. At first, they only collect odorous herbs and nettles on the way to the places where the Himalayan bees made their honeycombs. Having become a little older, boys and women pick up nests that have torn from the rocks and are lost by men.
You have to go for tens of kilometers. Honey hunters carry bamboo baskets for prey with them; about one centner of honey can be placed in one such container. In addition, professional equipment includes kilometer stairs and homemade insurance, as well as nets to protect the face from bites of angry bees.
Smoke fires are bred below. When the intensity of bee attacks drops, the hunter rises up to a huge height. Sitting on the bamboo stairs, with one hand the gurung holds the basket, and with the other cuts the honeycombs. Empty sectors are also taken in - hunters on the farm need wax, and they take it willingly for sale.
Fading traditions
The unique lifestyle of gurungs is slowly dying. Labor bees are declining every year: climate change and the destruction of alpine plantations of rhododendrons are affected. The popularity of honey hunting and the government-encouraged bee-breeding, strongly crippled the popularity of honey hunting. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in such a dangerous profession. Yes, and the medicinal properties of "crazy honey" are so interested in pharmaceutical companies that the rights to "harvest" are transferred to contractors. Travel companies, organizing a “honey hunt” for amateurs, are also not missing out, which leads to the depletion and extermination of bee colonies. According to forecasts, another decade is the maximum - and in the world there will be neither giant honey bees, nor “red honey”, nor hunters for it.