The pupae of this bee species, considered a specialty and favored by many people, help these hunters earn millions of dong a day.

Golden bee season starts from late June to July every year. This is the time when bee hives turn big which give many pupae. Farmers, who have leisure after harvest time, rush to hunt for golden bees to earn extra money.

Nguyen Van Hiep in Khe Sai 2 hamlet in Nghia Loc commune in Nghia Dan district in Nghe An province was seen rambling about in the rice fields and hills hunting for bees. He said he has know-how to catch these bees in the easiest and safest way.

“Golden bees often nest at low places, in bushes, or even ‘build’ nests just a few meters apart from each other. To hunt these bees, you just need a bag, a knife and a lighter,” he said.

“You just need to shake nests, worker bees will fly out and you will easily know where their nests are,” he explained.

Bee hunters hit the grass and clumps of trees with a long stick. If there are bees, they will immediately rush out. When detecting a nest, hunters burn leaves and dry tree branches to create smoke around the bee nests, driving worker bees away, and then take the bee nests away manually.

In order to know where bee hives are located, hunters sit among puddles of water to watch worker bees ‘transporting’ water. In summer heat, worker bees have to carry  water continually. Hunters only need to identify the orientation where the worker bees fly to find the places where the bees nest.

“I need 1-5 minutes only to pick up a bee nest. If nests are located in a too dense area, I have to clear brushes with a knife and it’ll take a little more time. I can catch 30-40 bee nests a day,” Hiep said.

Golden bee season comes only once a year and bee pupae is a specialty that everyone lusts for. The product is thus always in short supply.

Nguyen Thi Lan, a petty merchant in Nghia Dan district, said she collects golden bees from hunters.

“Bee pupae can be used to make very delicious dishes, so demand is always very high,” she said. “Bee pupae are a godsend for Nghe An people. Clean pupae are priced at VND350,000 per kilogram, or VND300,000 per nest."

Viet Hoa