They are the largest of their genus and endemic to the Cordillera and all across South and Southeast Asia.
Wandering days on end. Gatherers at times take refuge in the forest in search of these mountain golden liquid. Highly priced, this honey is valuable in the market.
The color of honey
The color of the honey ranges from amber to orange. Depending on the season, and the flowers that are predominantly blooming.
Narra trees in bloom produce an orange honey. The acacia flowers are amber to brown. The sunflowers, can produce the most sought color – yellow to golden. There are forest trees that yield white colored honey. The coconut tree’s flower can produce black honey.
Green honey is the product of stingless bees.
The hunt is on
Going honey hunting on a summer day, the adventure begins. Starting early, the experts among us scout for early honeybee trails.
Going out of their hives to forage, the giant honeybees, are visible in the early morning. The scouts take advantage of the situation and identify the location of the forest from where honey bee activities are visible. Against the rays of the rising sun, keen observers can easily spot the general location of the hive within the backdrop of the forest.
European honey bees propagate in close spaces. The giant honey bees expose their hives in the air. On tree branches, rock cliffs, hanging roots and stems.
Going through the foliage, the beehive is identified. Hanging precariously on a branch ten meters from the ground, it is about half a meter in length. The harvest earnestly starts.
The Harvest
Making the indigenous smokers out of available materials. Dried wood and sticks are first gathered to make the base, wrapping it with thick leaves and tied with bamboo strips and forest vines. To ensure a successful hunt, the hunters will be clearing the area of debris, slowly.
Upon lighting the smoker, the thick smoke instantly rises into the canopy. A sudden buzz disturbs the air.
Fanning the base of the indigenous smoker to keep the smoke going. We check our bodies for the prices we have to pay. Bee stings are always a dreadful sight.
Tens of thousand of insects are hovering in the canopy above – disturbed. The thick smoke continues to float upwards into the tree branches, where a colony of these flyers is peacefully enjoying their existence.
Their product now slowly drips from the exposed honeycombs. Two combs, the smaller one is the shape of a regular saucer, and the larger end the size of a plate is dripping with sweet honey.
Bee Stings
The giant honeybees are on the rampage. Forced to guard their nest, the stings come in a flurry. Our exposed forearms become instant targets. My partner, the one in charge of keeping the smoker upright, stands his ground. Swarmed over by the guard bees, he does not flee.
Gathering Honey
The gatherer stealthily hides from the pillars of smoke and climbs towards the target. With a bolo, rope, and a pail in tow, he slowly slices into the now exposed honeycombs. He ties the rope to the pail, throws it over a branch for support, puts in the gathered honeycomb and slowly lowers it. The smallest among us takes the pail and flees to where the stingers cannot follow him.
The giant bees swarm over a tree branch a distance away. Wary, tired and deprived of their resources that they have been guarding throughout these months. They protect their queen.
Taking their queen with them, they take flight. It is a beauty, seeing nature’s most industrious insects in the warpath. To an exodus to a place where they will thrive anew, and be part of the orderly circles of the natural world.
Apis Dorsata
The apis dorsata are endemic to the Cordilleras and aptly named the long range bombers of the rainforests. They cover wide areas to gather nectar. They are identified as flying giants among their genus of honey producing bees.
The giant honey bees are a part of our culture. In every tribe, clan and even generation, each has a story to tell. From the searching, harvesting, usage, and to the point of selling their precious produce, a lot of anecdotes are arrived at from these overprotective insects. Most common stories, are the nature of their sting, and the ferocity of their attacks.
The giant honey bees are old time favorites due to the volume of honey they could produce. They will forage on a wider area and bring home nectar in a much larger quantity than other bees. They hang their combs above the ground, far beyond the reach of other beasts in the forest. When left undisturbed, their hive will grow as big as blankets.
Honey’s medicinal properties
The honey of these insects are a very important food source to us Filipinos. Long ago, our ancestors discovered its medicinal properties.
Most importantly, as a medicinal food source, honey is used to cure boils, open wounds, cough and indigestion. The pollen, is encouraged for young children as it cleans the bowels.
The giant honey bees are not a worldwide phenomenon. They do not exist in other parts of the world. They are predominant in Southeast Asia and one of their favorite habitats is our country.
Cordillera, home of giant bees
The Cordillera has vast forest lands teeming with wildlife. Included here are the giant honey bees. The gathering of their produce commences after the rainy season. The mountains are in bloom.
Thriving where flowering plants grow, the giant honey bees gather nectar and ingest it in the process. They will return to the hive, and pour the honey into a cell. Subsequently, they will fan it with their wings, until the right moisture is attained. After which, they will seal it with wax.
They will store the honey in the dry season as it is plenty. In the rainy months, they will be opening and utilizing it as food stock.
These bees are the number one progenitors of the rainforest. They cover wide areas. Up to a ten-kilometer radius. Hopping from flower to flower, the bees become ambassadors of the cross-pollination process. From this, new life will grow forth as flowers transform into seeds. They will be ingested and carried by other animals that keep life in the forest growing.
We dread these stingers, and numerous stories of the existence of killer bees fire up peoples’ imaginations, which is misleading. The giant honey bees will attack only when provoked. Undisturbed and left to their habitat, they contribute greatly to the preservation of our environment.
The month of honey gathering is fast approaching. It is the blooming of flowers after the rains that signals the start of the old forest games. The search for the ever elusive giant honey bee hives starts.
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