Apis dorsata: Facts About the Giant Honey Bee (Rock Bee)

Quick answer: Apis dorsata, also called the giant honey bee or rock bee, is a large wild honey bee from South and Southeast Asia. Workers grow to about 1.7 to 2 cm long. It builds one huge open comb under tree branches, cliffs or buildings, and it is one of the most defensive bees in the world. People harvest its wild honey, but it can't be kept in hives.

If you've ever seen a dark, rippling sheet of bees hanging from a tall tree or a bridge in India or Thailand, you've probably seen Apis dorsata. It is one of the most impressive bees on Earth, and one of the most feared.

When people hear the name "giant honey bee", they often mix up two different bees: Apis dorsata, the lowland giant honey bee, and Apis laboriosa, the Himalayan giant that lives on high mountain cliffs. They are close relatives, but they live very different lives.

In this guide you'll learn what Apis dorsata is, where it lives, how dangerous it is, what its honey is like, and how it compares with the Himalayan giant honey bee that makes mad honey.

What Is Apis dorsata?

It is a wild honey bee species found across South and Southeast Asia, and one of the largest honey bees in the world.

It is one of the eight species of honey bee, all in the genus Apis. Here are its main features:

• Size: workers are about 1.7 to 2 cm long, much bigger than a Western honey bee
• Colour: golden-orange and black bands on the abdomen, with a hairy thorax
• Where it lives: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal's lowlands, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and southern China, mostly below about 1,000 metres
• Nest: a single open comb, up to about 1.5 metres wide, hanging 15 to 40 metres above the ground
• Colony size: tens of thousands of bees, sometimes more than 60,000
• Kept by people: no, it lives only in the wild

Scientists recognise three subspecies: Apis dorsata dorsata, the most widespread, and two island forms, binghami in Sulawesi and breviligula in the Philippines.

Why Is It Called the Rock Bee?

It is called the rock bee because it often builds its nest on rock faces and cliff overhangs.

They don't only use cliffs, though. In forests, they hang their combs from the highest branches of tall trees, and in towns they often build under water tanks, bridges and the edges of tall buildings. Some trees, often called "bee trees", hold dozens of nests at once, which makes them look like they're covered in dark, moving fruit.

How Do Giant Honey Bees Build Their Nests?

They build one large comb in the open air instead of many combs inside a hollow, like the Western honey bee does.

It is protected by a "bee curtain": a living blanket of worker bees, three or four layers deep, that covers both sides of the comb. The curtain keeps the brood warm or cool, shields it from rain and wind, and is the first line of defence against anything that comes too close.

When the seasons change, many colonies leave their nest and migrate, sometimes travelling up to 200 km to follow flowering forests through the wet and dry seasons. Some return to the same tree or cliff year after year.

Is Apis dorsata Aggressive?

Yes. Apis dorsata is considered one of the most defensive honey bees in the world, and in some studies even more defensive than Africanized honey bees.

If they feel threatened, large numbers of bees can leave the comb at once and chase an intruder for hundreds of metres. They usually ignore people walking at a distance, but loud noise, smoke, vibration or someone getting too close to the nest can trigger a mass attack.

It is why local people treat these nests with great respect and keep their distance unless they are experienced honey hunters.

What Happens If a Giant Honey Bee Stings You?

A apis dorsata single sting is painful but usually no more dangerous than any other bee sting for most people. The real danger comes from many stings at once.

When a colony attacks, a person can be stung dozens or even hundreds of times. That much venom can cause serious illness, and in rare cases it has been fatal. Anyone with a bee sting allergy is at much higher risk.

If you are ever attacked by giant honey bees:

• Move away fast, in a straight line, and get indoors or into a vehicle if you can
• Cover your face and head with clothing
• Don't jump into water, as the bees often wait above the surface
• Remove stingers by scraping them out with a fingernail or card
• Get medical help if you've been stung many times or feel dizzy, short of breath or swollen

How Do Giant Honey Bees Defend Their Nest?

They use a trick called "shimmering", one of the most famous behaviours in the bee world.

When a wasp or bird comes close, hundreds of bees on the surface of the comb flip their abdomens up one after another, creating a fast wave that ripples across the whole nest. It confuses predators and warns them off before the bees need to sting. They can also make a loud hissing sound as a group.

Does Apis dorsata Make Honey?

Yes. Apis dorsata makes and stores honey in its giant comb, and a single colony can hold up to about 15 kg.

It is one of the most important sources of wild honey in South and Southeast Asia. In India, Bangladesh and Indonesia, honey hunters collect it from tall trees and cliffs, often at night when the bees are calmer. Their honey is usually darker, thinner and more varied in taste than regular shop honey, because it comes from wild forest flowers.

They also have a clever traditional method called rafter beekeeping, used in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia. Hunters set up wooden planks, called tikung, at an angle in open areas. Colonies build their combs under the planks, which makes the honey easier and safer to collect without destroying the nest.

It isn't the bee behind most of the world's honey, though. Only a handful of species answer the question of which bees make honey in amounts people can collect, and almost all shop honey comes from the Western honey bee.

Apis dorsata vs Apis laboriosa: What's the Difference?

They are close relatives. For many years, scientists treated the Himalayan giant honey bee, Apis laboriosa, as a mountain form of Apis dorsata. Today most scientists see them as two separate species.

It is the Himalayan giant that makes the rare red honey people call "mad honey". When rhododendrons bloom on the high slopes of Nepal in spring, the bees feed on their nectar, and natural compounds from those flowers pass into the honey. That's why Himalayan mad honey is so different from the wild forest honey of Apis dorsata.

Why Is It Sometimes Called a Killer Bee?

It is sometimes called a "killer bee" in parts of Asia because of its mass attacks, which have caused serious injuries and deaths.

They aren't the same as the "killer bees" in the Americas, though. Those are Africanized honey bees, a hybrid of the Western honey bee. Both are very defensive, but they are completely different bees living on different continents.

Why Is Apis dorsata Important?

It is a major wild pollinator in tropical Asia. Mango, coconut, coffee, cotton and many forest trees benefit from its visits.

They also face real threats. Forest clearing removes the tall trees they nest in, and destructive honey hunting can wipe out whole colonies. Many projects now teach hunters to cut only part of each comb and leave the brood behind, so the colony can survive.

The giant honey bee is also a natural host of Tropilaelaps mites, which is why countries like Australia keep a close watch to make sure it never arrives, and why researchers such as the University of Florida study it closely.

Final Thoughts on Apis dorsata

It is one of the most remarkable bees in the world: huge, wild, fiercely protective, and able to build a single comb as wide as a doorway. For millions of people across Asia, it is also an important source of wild honey.

When you compare it with its mountain cousin, the Himalayan giant honey bee, you can see how two closely related bees adapted to very different worlds, one to hot tropical forests and the other to cold Himalayan cliffs. Apis dorsata makes wild forest honey, while Apis laboriosa makes mad honey, sometimes called “hallucinogenic honey” because of the natural compounds it carries from rhododendron nectar.

If you’d like to try mad honey, Best Mad Honey sources it directly from the harvest in Nepal and lab tests every batch for grayanotoxin, since the strength changes from season to season. You can explore the full mad honey collection and choose the rare harvest, spring harvest, autumn harvest mad honey that suits you.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Apis dorsata the Largest Honey Bee?

It is one of the largest, but the Himalayan giant honey bee, Apis laboriosa, is bigger, at up to about 3 cm long. Apis dorsata workers are about 1.7 to 2 cm.

2. Where Is Apis dorsata Found?

It is found across South and Southeast Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and southern China, mostly in lowland areas.

3. Can Apis dorsata Be Kept in Hives?

No. It builds a single open comb and migrates with the seasons, so it can't be kept in hive boxes. Its honey comes from wild colonies or from traditional rafter beekeeping.

4. What Is Rock Bee Honey Like?

Rock bee honey is usually darker and thinner than regular honey, with a strong, varied flavour from wild forest flowers.

5. Does Apis dorsata Make Mad Honey?

It isn't the bee known for Himalayan mad honey. That comes from the Himalayan giant honey bee, which feeds on rhododendron nectar high in the mountains of Nepal.