Unique beekeeping profession of 'death' in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - Wasps are considered "death gods" if attacked by them. Yet many people in Yen Thanh rice district (Nghe An) have boldly gone into the forest to capture the entire nest and bring it home to raise in their gardens.
| Clip: Xuan Hoang |
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| Hornets attack very aggressively whenever people approach their nests, however, many people in Lang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district go into the forest to find beehives to catch them alive and raise them. Mr. Doan Ba Nghia in Lang Nghe hamlet, Lang Thanh commune is currently raising over 100 hornet nests right in his garden. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
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| Most of the fruit trees in Mr. Doan Ba Nghia's garden have wasp nests, so no one dares to go near them, unless the homeowner wears protective gear. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
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| When caught in the forest, each wasp nest is only as big as a fist. After about a month of raising, the nest develops quite quickly and can be harvested. Locals say that wasp harvest lasts from June to August 15. A nest can yield 3-4 kg, worth 600,000 to 800,000 VND. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
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| The bees on guard duty are always perched at the mouth of the hive, ready to attack when people or other animals come near. Mr. Doan Ba Nghia said that each beehive raised in the garden can be harvested twice. The first time, just peel off the bottom shell, then cut off the 2-3 largest layers below, leaving the top layer intact so that the bees can continue to rebuild the hive. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
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| To ensure the safety of people and other animals when raising bees in their gardens, beekeepers must use nets to fence the entrances and exits to the garden, and absolutely do not allow children to enter the garden to avoid being attacked by bees. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
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| People who keep wasps in their gardens say that because there are many hives in one area, they feed the bees with pond fish every day. The fish are left whole, and when they are brought out into the garden, the entire colony of bees concentrates on eating them and bringing the food back to the bees who are responsible for reproduction and guarding the nest. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
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| Next to Mr. Nghia's family, there is also Mr. Nguyen Ba Trong's family who is raising nearly 100 wasp nests. In addition to raising bees at the base of trees, Mr. Trong also takes advantage of the abandoned livestock barn system to place bee nests in. Although it is his first year of raising bees, Mr. Trong is very interested. Mr. Trong shared that before, when he went into the forest and saw any bee nest, whether small or large, he would destroy the nest to get the layers, which was very wasteful, so he thought of capturing the whole nest to raise, avoiding waste and having income. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
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When harvesting bees, wearing fake clothes, the bees cannot sting, so the beekeepers are quite assured. Currently, 1 kg of honeycomb costs 200,000 VND. Bee pupae are processed into delicious dishes, so they are consumed well in the area. According to Mr. Nguyen Ho Son - Chairman of Lang Thanh Commune People's Committee, there are currently about 10 households in the commune that catch hornets to raise in their gardens. Because this species of bee is very aggressive and can sting people, leading to death, the locality recommends that people be careful in the raising process. It is known that in addition to Lang Thanh Commune, many people in other localities are raising this dangerous species of bee in their gardens. Photo: Xuan Hoang |