People hunt for a "giant" 10-story beehive on the Nghe An - Laos border

According to Mr. Nguyen Phung Quan (31 years old) in Hamlet 7, Nam Hung Commune, during the bee season, people in his hometown often go into the forest to hunt bees for honey and collect beehives to sell. A few days ago, while "chasing" bees in Thanh Thuy Forest, Thanh Chuong - the border with Laos, his bee hunting group came across a large beehive. This is the nest of a species of bee called "can la", which is called "sky bee" by Northerners - a type of bee that is smaller than a ground bee but has a sting more poisonous than a wasp.

A "giant" 10-storey beehive, weighing more than 20 kg. Photo: Thanh Phu

Because the beehive is large and built on a tree dozens of meters high, getting to the nest is extremely difficult. In addition to having to climb high, the climber also has to wear many layers of protective clothing, making it quite complicated.

Just like taking the nests of many other bee species, when taking this beehive, the climber who approaches the nest immediately pulls it out, ties a rope and drops it to the base, allowing the bees to cling and sting around him.

Mr. Nguyen Phung Quan and the "giant" beehive he just hunted. Photo: Thanh Phu

Mr. Quan said that getting this beehive was difficult, bringing it home intact was even more difficult. Because the beehive was too big to hold, he and his friend had to tie a rope to their backs to get it out of the forest.

When the giant beehive was brought home, many curious people flocked to see it. The beehive has 10 floors, the middle floor is the largest with a diameter of more than 0.9 m and gradually gets smaller towards the two ends, the floors still have intact pupae. The beehive weighs more than 20 kg and is nearly 0.7 m high. "This is the largest beehive I have ever hunted" - Mr. Quan shared.

It is very difficult to move a "giant" beehive. Photo: Thanh Phu

Immediately afterwards, the owner carried the “giant” beehive to Highway 15 to sell to passersby. The beehive is usually sold here at retail prices ranging from 160 to 250 VND/kg, depending on the time.

It is known that Nam Hung is a famous locality for bee hunting in Nghe An province. Currently, the whole commune has dozens of people specializing in bee hunting, concentrated in hamlets 7, 9, and 10. According to folk experience, the later the bee season, the more large nests can be hunted.