Traders flock to Nghe An to hunt for ground bees to sell to China.

(Baonghean.vn) - Autumn is the time for ground bees (ground bees) to thrive. Currently, in Nghe An, a group of beekeepers from northern provinces have come to hunt these bees to sell to China at high prices.

For about a week now, a group of nearly 20 bee hunters from Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, and Ha Giang provinces have been traveling to the mountainous districts of Nghe An province to catch ground bees to sell to Chinese traders.

Mr. Nguyen Thach Hung from Phu Ho commune, Phu Tho town, said: "Every year, from around August to November, my brothers and I form a group and travel nearly 400 km to Nghe An province to hunt for ground bees. Because the ground bees there are considered the 'best' and fetch the highest price."

After a day of hunting for bees in the pine forest of Quynh Luu district, the team of bee hunters dug up nearly 50 ground bee nests. Photo: Nhu Thuy

The equipment for hunting bees is very simple, consisting of a few hooded raincoats, safety glasses, gloves, boots, a pickaxe, and a nylon net to hold the bees. The group splits into 2 to 4 people and rides motorbikes, scouring pine forests, melaleuca forests, or tea hills to find hiding places for ground bees.

After discovering a ground bee nest, they begin their work. Typically, the hunters will use a large bamboo or plastic tube inserted into one end of a mesh bag, with the other end pressed against the bee's exit. Then they burn dry straw; when the smoke enters the nest, the bees will swarm through the tube into the mesh bag. Once the bee colony is captured, the hunter simply uses a pickaxe to dig through the soil and retrieve the entire nest of larvae hidden beneath the humus.

If you're lucky enough to find a beehive weighing over 2kg like this one, it can fetch more than 1.5 million VND. Photo: Nhu Thuy

"Currently, ground bees are popular in the market for soaking in medicinal wine, while the larvae are processed into food. If brought to border marker number 5 in Xin Man district (Ha Giang province) for sale, Chinese traders buy them for 2,500 VND per larva and 3,000 VND per adult bee. If sold with both honeycomb and larvae, the price is around 800,000 VND per kilogram. That's why many people in Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang... are eager to hunt ground bees for sale despite knowing the dangers," shared Mr. Nguyen Thach Hung.

The plump, pure white pupae of ground bees are becoming a sought-after delicacy among the wealthy. Photo: Nhu Thuy

A typical day of bee hunting requires beekeepers to wake up at 4 am, eat a hearty meal, and then travel 70 to 100 km to find beehives. They only have a light lunch of dried rations or rice cakes and return to their lodgings in the late afternoon with dozens of kilograms of beeswax as their spoils. On average, each bee hunter earns between 15 and 20 million VND per month.

Nhu Thuy