Thanh Chuong mountain people hunted the largest beehive ever seen.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Tien (36 years old), residing in Nho Phong hamlet, Thanh Nho commune, said that on the afternoon of November 7, his group had just hunted a large beehive.

"Giant" beehive when first taken down from the tree. Photo: Nguyen Dung

This beehive weighs more than 20 kg, has 10 floors, is about 0.7 m high, the middle floor is the largest with a diameter of about 0.9 m and gradually gets smaller towards the two ends, the floors still have intact pupae. This is the nest of the canna wasp species, also known as the sky wasp. This wasp is smaller than the ground wasp; its venom is more poisonous than the hornet.

The beehive has 10 floors and weighs more than 20 kg. Photo: Nguyen Dung

According to Mr. Tien, because the "huge" beehive is located on a tree about 20 meters high, taking the nest is very difficult and the person taking it must be very careful. Taking this beehive is difficult, bringing it home intact is even more difficult, it is too big to hold, the worker must tie a rope to his back to bring it home.

To get the pupae, the honeycombs are separated and burned with a blowtorch. Photo: Nguyen Dung

After bringing the hive home, on the night of November 7, the workers separated the floors and used a blowtorch to burn the surface of the floors to remove the pupae. From the hive, 12 kg of good quality pupae were taken. These pupae were packed in plastic boxes, put in the freezer to sell to customers.

"This type of bee pupae is currently being imported wholesale at 270,000 VND/kg, the retail price is higher" - Mr. Tien shared.

The "giant" beehive has yielded 12 kg of pupae. Photo: Nguyen Dung

It is known that Thanh Nho commune, Thanh Chuong district is a locality with many people working in beekeeping, honey bee hunting, and bee nest hunting. They go in groups of 2-3 people each to support each other.

Bee hunters usually hunt for nests of wasps, hornets, and hornets. With hornets, hunting a nest weighing over 20 kg is very rare.