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TRADITIONAL HONEY COLLECTION FROM APIS DORSATA BINGHAMI

(Apis dorsata binghami) .North Pamona sub-district is one of the largest honey producing areas in Sulawesi. .Collection from Apis dorsata binghami is from nests hanging under branches of big trees, which are mostly located in primary forest away from villages. .The height of the nest is 10-20 m above the ground. .Although nobody owns the tree where the bees nest and therefore anyone could harvest any nest, a mark is sometimes made on a tree to signify ownership..Harvesting takes place in the day and involves one to four people, without ceremony. .One person climbs the tree and drives the bees off the nest using a traditional smoker. .The smoker is made of dried bamboo, which has been split, and pounded and wrapped with coconut or other palm leaves, the bees are driven off the nest..After the bees have left, all the comb is cut and the honey sections are squeezed to extract the honey, which is then strained. .One nest can yield 2-20 kg honey, depending on the availability of bee forage..Once the bees have left the nest, the entire comb is cut and squeezed to extract the honey. .This collection method is dangerous and the long distance from the villages means the honey collectors have to stay out overnight..There are two honey seasons a year: September to December and February to April. Honey is harvested during the day. There are two subspecies of Apis dorsata in Indonesia: Apis dorsata dorsata found all over Indonesia except Sulawesi, and Apis dorsata binghami, endemic to Sulawesi and its surrounding islands..Apis dorsata dorsata often nest with many colonies together in the same tree, but these nesting aggregations are not observed for Apis dorsata binghami: usually only one or two nests can be found in one tree.

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(Apis dorsata binghami) .North Pamona sub-district is one of the largest honey producing areas in Sulawesi. .Collection from Apis dorsata binghami is from nests hanging under branches of big trees, which are mostly located in primary forest away from villages. .The height of the nest is 10-20 m above the ground. .Although nobody owns the tree where the bees nest and therefore anyone could harvest any nest, a mark is sometimes made on a tree to signify ownership..Harvesting takes place in the day and involves one to four people, without ceremony. .One person climbs the tree and drives the bees off the nest using a traditional smoker. .The smoker is made of dried bamboo, which has been split, and pounded and wrapped with coconut or other palm leaves, the bees are driven off the nest..After the bees have left, all the comb is cut and the honey sections are squeezed to extract the honey, which is then strained. .One nest can yield 2-20 kg honey, depending on the availability of bee forage..Once the bees have left the nest, the entire comb is cut and squeezed to extract the honey. .This collection method is dangerous and the long distance from the villages means the honey collectors have to stay out overnight..There are two honey seasons a year: September to December and February to April. Honey is harvested during the day. There are two subspecies of Apis dorsata in Indonesia: Apis dorsata dorsata found all over Indonesia except Sulawesi, and Apis dorsata binghami, endemic to Sulawesi and its surrounding islands..Apis dorsata dorsata often nest with many colonies together in the same tree, but these nesting aggregations are not observed for Apis dorsata binghami: usually only one or two nests can be found in one tree.