‘Eating bees’ in U Minh Ha forest

Beekeeping in U Minh Ha National Forest has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. The traditional craft since the forefathers reclaimed it has now become a tourist product that attracts tourists from near and far, with a journey to experience ‘eating bees’.

Bee salad. “Eating bees” is the local way of saying about the journey to get honey from the hive. Mr. Pham Duy Khanh, a resident of U Minh Ha and a tourist from the profession of guarding bee hive, said: “When workers collect honey from the beehive, they often enjoy a part of honey and young honeycomb on the spot to assess the quality. amount of honey as well as reward yourself. Because eating bees in the forest is always better than taking them home.” U Minh Ha wild honey is a specialty of Ca Mau, famous for its quality that is hard to match. Because only bees that suck nectar of Melaleuca flowers can give clear yellow honey with a gentle floral scent and pure sweetness. In particular, the bees only come to nest when the Melaleuca forest is planted close to nature on a large and dense area. With lush green melaleuca forests all year round, U Minh Ha National Forest is an ideal habitat for bees. Especially, at the time when Melaleuca flowers bloom, a lot of honey bees fly back to make nests. Capturing this behavior, Mr. Pham Duy Khanh’s family planted Melaleuca on an area of ​​60ha, creating a living environment to attract bees and preserve the profession of guarding bees. According to local people, the “eating bee” season usually starts from about March onwards, when the weather is dry and hot, suitable for melaleuca flowers to bloom and bees to make honey. A few weeks before this time, people have prepared to set aside the truss for the bees to make a nest. This truss set is usually made from melaleuca tree, straight body, with a diameter of 10-15cm, peeled off, dry. The truss is pitched in the shape of a roof and is suitable for locations where the sun shines through. The time for bees to nest is about 20-30 days. After that, people will visit and collect honey at the right time when the hive has formed. To collect honey, workers must carry a smoker or a torch made of coconut fiber, long-sleeved clothes, a hood, gloves, a knife and other tools to store honeycombs and honeycombs. Usually, the worker uses a knife to cut and separate the honey from the hive, leaving about 1/3 of the hive for the bees to make a new nest. Pham Duy Khanh shared: “The habit of bees when growing up will separate the colony to make new nests, so it will continue to give honey. A nest like this, if exploited well, can get honey 3-4 times.” After cutting the honeycomb out of the nest, squeeze or squeeze the honey. Each hive on average gives about 3-5 liters of honey, with nests up to 10 liters. In the dry season, honey is more abundant and of better quality than in the rainy season. When beekeeping is exploited as a tourist product, visitors will experience the journey into the forest to collect honey with local workers. This journey brings many interesting things, not only the thrill of weaving through the forests and lagoons; visitors can also enjoy honey on the spot. Young bees are also processed into unique dishes. It is young bee salad, young bee pancakes, young bee porridge, young bee sauce or deep-fried young bees. This is a special feature that can only be experienced directly in U Minh Ha forest. Beekeeping is a typical profession of the U Minh Ha forest area, which is not only valuable in terms of economy but also imbued with local cultural identity. Since then formed a tourism product that is attracting more and more tourists to Ca Mau.