The giant Asian hornet and other wasp insects which saw a sharp decline in the last decades due to massive destruction of the forest by wildfire and other man-made activities are steadily showing signs of improvements. This has come about with local authorities and community CSOs strongly advocating awareness of the grassroots and town dwellers on the negative impact of wildfire on forest resources.
Feeling the heat of massive destruction caused to wild species, trees, water sources and people’s livelihood, the concerned state government, the Directorate of Climate Change and Environment, Government of Manipur, in particular, has initiated a series of awareness programmes to educate the masses about the impending doom facing the people of the region.
It is worth mentioning that the hills of Manipur in India’s north eastern region are home to myriads of wasps and bee species in addition to scores of flora and fauna. However, the sad reality is that widespread destruction of the forest has made them endangered species, with wasps and bee families being one of the most affected.
As natural as playing a guitar comes to the people of Manipur’s Ukhrul community, when it comes to apiculture (bee rearing) and wasps including Api Dorsata, Api Indica and Apis Melifera, among others for their larvae, they have been blessed with pool of skills on it.
The so-called larvae of the nutritious wild giant hornet, which is locally called “Khuirei” in Tangkhul, is in high demand in the north eastern region given its exceptionally sumptuous taste, size and the aroma it produces.
A single piece of giant hornet larvae comes to Rs 20-25 in Ukhrul and Kamjong districts. Given its skyrocketing price tag, it has become a richman’s dish.
40-year-old Mason SK is a giant hornet rearer in the remote north of Manipur’s Ukhrul district. He has been into this venture since his childhood days and still continues to rear when the season approaches.
In the life of grassroot people where employment opportunities are very scarce, wasps rearing makes life somehow better than others for Mason, in terms of income. He is one such parent who supports his family through wasps rearing and paddy plantation.
Armed with self-taught art in wasps rearing, he is also a good tree climber, which again comes very handy in catching smaller wasps which make its nest in the tree, especially tall ones. It requires skills, strength and courage as it is mostly done using indigenous style blend with a bit of modern technique.
A good giant hornet, when it is ripe for harvest, yields not less than 8 nests (hives) containing not less than 30 to 40 kilos of larvae.
To rear a wasp, although there is no hard and fast rule, a hole measuring about four and half feet deep and four to five feet in length and breadth is dug to rear the giant hornet. Upon finding its feeding trees, a day or two is spent, in some cases four days, to be tracked down to its nest/home. Post working out all these details, a hole is dug and the hornet king along with its armies of wasp and nest is carefully extracted from their home/hole and placed in their new home.
To make the wasps nest big or to let it have more nests purely depends on the rearer. To make its size bigger, either a solid hard rock has to be placed or cemented. On the other hand, to have more nests the hole beneath where it is hanged has to be let loose. It’s purely the rearer’s choice, though.
Sharing exclusively to the Imphal Free Press, Mason said the giant Asian hornet population is reportedly on the rise in rural villages where local authorities had imposed a blanket ban on forest fire with heavy penalties on the defaulters. “I have been in the business of wasp keeping for the last two decades generating not less than Rs 80,000 annually. As a young boy I didn’t earn that much but as I grew older and backed with experience, my annual income improved.”
This year, I have reared only four giant hornets though I could rear not less than 7 to 8. Moreover, as a cultivator I could not spare enough time to search for it. Increase in wasp and bee species is a ray of hope for farmers like me as earnings from it comes as a big relief in dealing with financial difficulties, he added before signing off for visiting his field.
A bottle of pure honeybee is sold at Rs 1,000 per one litre bottle in the local market.
Ason L, 65, who is an avid giant hornet larvae consumer, testified that among all the wasps larvae, hornet is the best, given its taste and size. In our days, it was quite affordable even for a poor farmer like myself. However, its prices have drastically changed today and it is beyond my capacity to buy, he lamented, while recalling the good old bygone days.
Commenting on wasps and beekeeping benefits, Dr. Arati Ningombam, senior Entomology scientist at ICARNER Manipur Centre said as long as Ukhrul is rearing hornet and honeybee for eating, its grubs or young ones there cannot be commercial wasp or beekeeping in Ukhrul.
Beekeeping comes under secondary agriculture. Funding is provided through Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and beekeeping activities are encouraged under National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) under National Bee Board.
No doubt, grubs of hornets and other wasps come under edible insects and are very nutritious with high protein and essential amino acids content.
Moreover, it helps in pollinating flowers just like any insect which pollinates flowers; it’s a general ecosystem service.
In notable movements towards preserving the endangered “Khuirei”, Leishi village under Kamjong district has started observing “Khui Phanit” (wasp festival) since 2022.
As per reports collected from several wasp rearers it is reported that in areas where effective forest conservation compliance were followed, with special focus on burning of wildfire, there is sharp rise in wasps and bee species while in less effective regions its population shows a downward trend.
Rungshing Angkang, headman Leishi village, said that with the aim to preserve the fast diminishing forest cover and to preserve its rich flora and fauna and water sources, the village had totally banned wildfire, hunting and use of chemicals and electrical appliances for fishing. “Preserving forest should be the bounden responsibility of every stakeholder and not just village authority because we breathe the same air and no amount of money can replace it,” the headman said.
Preserving bees, wasps and other wild species are some of the major activities initiated by the village.
He continued that in their bid to conserve forest, the village authority (VA), in coordination with its affiliating bodies, have taken up a series of environment friendly initiatives. “Tree plantation, banning of hunting, wildfire and use of chemicals and electrical appliances for fishing are some of the major measures the village had initiated, among others, “ he added.
Wasps larvae are a seasonal flavour, although one could preserve it yearlong using preservatives. Normally, Asian hornet rearing starts in the last week of March and matures in the 2nd week of October and in some cases, November. A single giant hornet with good yields fetches not less than Rs 35,000-40,000 in the market.
Taking a cue from these developments, when the IFP contacted the Horticulture officer of Ukhrul to find out the benefits available for the wasps rearers, they couldn’t be reached.
