[The reason for the reported decline in the cliffside hives is unclear. But scientists in the United States, Europe and elsewhere have linked global warming to declines in bee populations through loss of habitat and possible earlier flower blooms. That can potentially disrupt the production of pollen that bees use as food.]
By
Brian Murphy
 |
Lisu honey hunters Dong Haifa, top, and Mi Qiaoyun perch on a rope ladder near Mangshi, in China’s
Dehong prefecture. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
|
When the smoke rises, so do the Lisu honey
hunters.
On ladders or rope rigs draped against jagged
cliffs in southern China, they wait for the smoke from ground fires to scatter
the bees from their huge hives wedged into outcrops. Then the hunters use poles
and long cutting tools to break away portions of the combs holding the valuable
honey, which can sell for more than $20 a pound in Chinese markets.
A photographer for Getty, Kevin Frayer,
recently chronicled the tradition of honey collection by the Lisu, an ethnic
group in the southwest mountainous areas of Yunnan province along China’s
border with Myanmar.
The hunt for the cliffside honey has changed
little over the centuries. But fewer people are taking part in the dangerous
and exhausting practice as other work options lure them away.
Those who remain, meanwhile, say there are
fewer hives made by the giant Himalayan honeybees, which can grow more than an
inch long and deliver a nasty sting. Some honey hunters are stung dozens of
times in a day.
The reason for the reported decline in the
cliffside hives is unclear. But scientists in the United States, Europe and
elsewhere have linked global warming to declines in bee populations through
loss of habitat and possible earlier flower blooms. That can potentially
disrupt the production of pollen that bees use as food.
 |
|
Dong Haifa, top, and Mi
Qiaoyun are surrounded by bees as they hunt honey using a
rope ladder. (Kevin
Frayer/Getty Images)
|
In some places in Nepal and elsewhere in the
region, the cliff-hugging bees pollinate with rhododendron flowers to produce a
honey believed to have medicinal — and sometimes slightly hallucinogenic —
properties.
“Some honey hunters claim they are finding
fewer hives than in the past, because bee populations are impacted by heavy
pesticide use among local farmers and global warming,” Frayer told the
Atlantic.
The Lisu hunters never take all the honey
from hives in one area. Enough is left for the bees to return the following
season.
Related links:
