![]() In comparison, Apis mellifera colonies can reach sizes of up to 50,000 individuals. Apis cerana colonies are relatively small, with only around 6,000 to 7,000 workers. ![]() According to a survey, about 96 beekeepers are in the area.Īpis cerana, the eastern honey bee or the Asiatic honey bee, is a species of honey bee native to southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia. The technique is still used today at the state farm of Song Trem in U Minh District. According to Vietnamese sociologists, in the early 19th century, honey hunting or raftering was the most important occupation of the people who lived in the Melaleuca forest swamp. This method of “rafter beekeeping” was first reported in 1902. In some Melaleuca forests in Vietnam, people use a traditional method of collecting honey and wax from A. One exception to the non-domesticated relationship with humans is the case of the people practicing rafter beekeeping in the Melaleuca forests of Southern Vietnam: Rafter Beekeeping: Not domesticated: Though not domesticating it by forcing them to live in hives, indigenous peoples have traditionally used this species as a source of h oney and beeswax, a practice known as honey hunting 3. The visual display of shimmering is thought to intimidate potential threats such as predatory wasps, birds, and mammals. These waves originate from individual bees which perceive a predator and raise their abdomen first, invoking a similar response from the surrounding bees. Shimmering involves a display of waves that moves across the surface of the nest in a fraction of a second as the bees raise their abdomens in sequential order. Giant honey bees are smarter than you think!ĭefensive through distraction: Apis dorsata uses another fascinating method of defense known as shimmering. This defense is particularly useful against bird predators that try to rip sections of brood from the comb, because the birds often attack the bottom of the comb, grabbing only handfuls of bees. This act not only prepares the guard bees for attack, but also makes the nest look larger than it is. The bees will then run to the lower rim of the comb and create large thin chains of bees while making a hissing sound. An alarmed guard bee will fly back to the nest and, with an exposed stinger, run in a zigzag pattern along the curtain of bees. Strategic: These bees have evolved a unique method of defense to deter predators from attacking their exposed nests. The other bees will buzz loudly and bite the threat to deter the threat, without risking the lives of many individuals Smart and calculating: Large numbers of Apis dorsata attack a perceived threat, though only a few provide the painful stings because the bees will die shortly after stinging. Their main weapons are stingers that are up to 3 mm long and easily penetrate clothing and even the fur of a bear. It is considered the most defensive of all of the honey bees, even more defensive than the African honey bee. In fact, the Giant honey bee is described as one of the most dangerous animals of the southeastern Asian jungles. Longer flights: The large body size of Apis dorsata allows these bees to have a greater flight and foraging range than those of other honey bee species.Īggressive & defensive: When disturbed, Apis dorsata colonies are famous for their aggressive defense strategies. ![]() This is astonishing when keeping in mind that bees that knew of the old nesting location would have died long before (!) Interestingly, scientists observed that the same colony can return to the exact same branch six months later. The colony leaves behind an empty comb when it departs from a nest site. They store honey in the upper corner of the nest. Apis dorsata can form dense aggregations at one nesting site sometimes with up to 200 colonies in one tree.Ībout 3–4 weeks after nesting, a colony can store 4 to 6 kg of honey. The bottom of the comb has a number of unoccupied hexagonal cells.Įach colony can have up to 100,000 bees and is separated by only a few centimeters from the other colonies in an aggregation. This curtain is sufficient to protect the nest during storms with heavy wind and rain. It forms a protective barrier separating the vulnerable brood from the outside world. This curtain is several layers of bees thick.
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