The Most Daring Bee You’ve Never Heard Of
With 20,000 bee species worldwide, Apis Laboriosa is in a league of its own. It is infamously known as the “Giant Honeybee” in the bee realm.
What’s So Special About The Giant Honeybee?
These are not the regular honeybees that you find in your backyard. You won’t find them in tropical rainforests or cities either. These are the bees that belong to the lofty Himalayas.
These are social bees, meaning they live in colonies, work together, and produce honey just like other honey bees do. But they’re not commonly domesticated like Apis mellifera, the common honey bee, due to their remote nesting locations.
Ever heard of Mad Honey? A honey that caused the entire Roman army to collapse in one go. The same honey that has the medicinal and psychoactive properties that now the world wants to try. Yes, the giant honeybees are behind the creation of the mystical nectar.
What do they look like?
Apis laboriosa is the largest honeybee in the world, its wingspan can stretch over 3 cm. They are feisty fliers that live in open-air nests. They can adapt to survive and thrive at high altitudes in the rough and tough cliffs of the Himalayas. They live at an intimidating height of over 2,500 meters! Now that’s what we call living on the edge.
They boast their dark body with golden wings, built to endure harsh mountain winds. They are not only tough, but they are also incredibly smart foragers. Because they collect nectar from high-altitude rhododendron flowers to create their famous mad honey.
What’s “Mad” About Their Honey?
Mad honey isn’t just a fun nickname. The honey these bees collect from rhododendron flowers contains natural compounds called grayanotoxins. Resultantly, we get a reddish, slightly bitter honey that has mild hallucinogenic and medicinal properties.
For centuries, honey has helped with digestive issues, high blood pressure, and stress. Well, it’s not only for the bygone days. To this day, people still enjoy the mad honey to better their health; and to relax themselves from the hustle of the world.
But when people hoard mad honey, it can cause dizziness, tingling, and nausea. So this is definitely a honey that requires respect and moderation.
And yes, it’s legal in many countries and still harvested.
So, Who Collects This Rare Honey?
Meet the Gurung honey hunters, a Nepalese indigenous community who have been harvesting mad honey for generations. They climb hundreds of feet up to reach the beehives, using only handmade rope ladders.
Although it's purely dangerous, they persist in harvesting the mad honey. Mainly, because it's their sacred, ancestral practice that requires deep respect.
Fun Facts
- Apis laboriosa is the largest honey bee in the world.
- The honey’s red color comes from rhododendron nectar.
- These bees are extremely selective foragers. When the toxic rhododendrons bloom, they know exactly where to go.
- Unlike many other honey bees, Apis laboriosa builds single massive combs—sometimes over a meter wide!
- These bees were once considered a subspecies of the regular Himalayan honey bee (Apis dorsata), but in 1980, they were reclassified as their own species because of their unique high-altitude lifestyle and distinct behaviors.
- You’ll only find them in remote Himalayan regions—Nepal, and Turkey. Nowhere else.
- Bees build their combs facing down, fully exposed to wind, rain, and even birds of prey.
- Mad honey bees are hardier than regular honey bees, surviving in thin mountain air.
What Can We Do For Our Mad Honey Bees?
While you may not climb the cliffs anytime soon, you can still protect the bees.
The first step would be to understand the importance of wild pollinators in mountain ecosystems. Once you know enough about them, you can raise awareness in your community.
A few organisations, like Medicinal Mad Honey, have been working with local communities for over a decade to ensure ethical and sustainable harvesting.
And if you ever find the time, it’s worth learning about the rich traditions behind this rare practice. The story of mad honey is just as fascinating as the honey itself!
