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Honey bees of Nepal

Five honey bee species live in Nepal, from the plains to the high Himalaya. Some are farmed in hives, and some can only be hunted. Here is how they differ.

Sources last checked 1 November 2026

The five species

Two are kept in hives: the Asian honey bee, which is native, and the European honey bee, which was introduced. Three are wild: the giant honey bee, the Himalayan giant honey bee and the dwarf honey bee.

  • Native · kept in hives

    Asian honey bee

    Apis cerana

    Nest
    Several parallel combs inside dark cavities such as caves, rock hollows and hollow trees, usually close to the ground (not more than 4–5 m).
    In hives?
    Kept in hives for thousands of years, in clay pots, logs and boxes. Movable-frame hives have partly replaced the traditional ones. Absconding is a major obstacle to beekeeping in southern Asia.
    Honey per colony
    8–10 kg a year (a national figure cited in a 2024 study).
    • Most of Nepal’s roughly 249,680 hives hold this species (Kathmandu Post, 2024).
    • A Nepal field report says colonies kept in voids left in house walls are called ghar mauri, “house bees”, after that traditional way of keeping them.

    Sources: FAO, Honeybees of the genus Apis; Neupane et al. 2024; Kathmandu Post, Jan 2024; Himalayan ceranaid field report

  • Introduced · kept in hives

    European honey bee

    Apis mellifera

    Nest
    Several parallel combs in a cavity. Temperate races prefer about 45 litres, and a colony holds 15,000–60,000 bees.
    In hives?
    Kept in movable-frame hives, the only kind practical for migratory beekeeping.
    Honey per colony
    25–30 kg a year (the national figure cited in a 2024 study). Commercial beekeepers surveyed in Chitwan averaged 28.2 kg per hive, with a range of 18–36 kg.

    Sources: FAO, Honeybees of the genus Apis; Neupane et al. 2024; Amgai et al. 2026

  • Native · wild

    Giant honey bee

    Apis dorsata

    Nest
    One large open comb, up to about a metre wide, hung from a branch or cliff, usually 3–25 m above the ground.
    In hives?
    Cannot be kept in hives for long. Colonies migrate or abscond when food runs short, and defenders are very aggressive, sometimes chasing for more than 100 m.
    Honey per colony
    We found no reliable per-colony figure in the sources reviewed.
    • Terai forest honey from this bee was measured in 99 samples (Qamer et al., 2008).

    Sources: FAO, Honeybees of the genus Apis; Qamer et al. 2008

  • Native · wild

    Himalayan giant honey bee

    Apis laboriosa

    Nest
    Large open combs under rock overhangs. The cliffs hunted by the Gurung are about 50 m high, and a nest has a base of about 1.5 m.
    In hives?
    Wild. The honey is hunted from cliffs, not farmed.
    Altitude
    Reported at 4,200 m, where no other honey bee occurs (ICIMOD’s S. R. Joshi, 2022).
    Honey per colony
    Roughly 1–5 litres a colony at Dharche (2023). A hunter from Naiche village, in Marshyangdi, recalled up to 15 litres from a big nest in the past.
    • FAO notes that little is known about its biology.
    • A Nepal field report calls them bhir mauri, “cliff bees”, and describes their nests being harvested twice a year, in spring and autumn.
    • A Tribhuvan University bee scientist estimated a 70% yearly decline in colonies. That is an expert estimate, not a measured rate. Causes cited include pesticides, habitat loss, infrastructure and destructive hunting.

    Sources: FAO, Honeybees of the genus Apis; Himalayan ceranaid field report; Dialogue Earth, 2022; Kathmandu Post, May 2023

  • Native · wild

    Dwarf honey bee

    Apis florea

    Nest
    A single small open comb on slender branches, 1–8 m above the ground.
    In hives?
    Not suited to hives. Colonies are highly mobile and often abscond.
    Altitude
    Rarely found above 1,500 m.
    Honey per colony
    Usually not more than a few hundred grams.

    Source: FAO, Honeybees of the genus Apis

How high they live

The sources give different ranges for each species, and many give no altitude at all. So this chart shows only figures we could verify. Each is a single reported value or range, not a full map of where the bee lives.

Altitude markers from the sources

  1. Apis florea, the dwarf honey bee

    Rarely above 1,500 m

    The upper limit FAO gives for this species.

    Source: FAO, Honeybees of the genus Apis

  2. Chiuri honey producers, Pyuthan

    1,000–1,800 m

    The altitude range where FAO’s profile says producers work.

    Source: FAO, Chiuri honey

  3. Cliff honey hunt at Dharche, Gorkha

    About 2,200 m

    Apis laboriosa colonies on the cliffs above the Nimrung stream.

    Source: Kathmandu Post, May 2023

  4. Apis laboriosa, the highest reported

    4,200 m

    Found at this height where no other honey bee occurs.

    Source: Dialogue Earth, 2022

Yield and quality

Nepal’s hives give far less than they could. A 2024 study cites a potential of 70–80 kg per colony a year, against current yields of 25–30 kg for the European bee and 8–10 kg for the Asian bee. Nepal has about 248,037 colonies, including an estimate of natural ones, and produces about 3,997 tonnes of honey a year.

Yield and quality at a glance
BeeKept in hives?Honey per colonyMoisture (g per 100 g)Conductivity (mS/cm)
Asian honey beeYes8–10 kg a year20.10.65
European honey beeYes25–30 kg a year17.10.31
Giant honey beeNo, wildNo reliable figure found21.50.96
Himalayan giant honey beeNo, wildAbout 1–5 litres at Dharche——
Dwarf honey beeNo, wildA few hundred grams——

Moisture and conductivity are the mean values from 81 honey samples collected in Chitwan. A dash means that bee was not sampled. For what these numbers mean against the standard, see the comparison guide.

Sources: Neupane et al. 2024; Amgai et al. 2026; Joshi et al. 2000; FAO, Honeybees of the genus Apis; Kathmandu Post, May 2023

Traditional and medical use, by bee

We found no medical use that is specific to Apis cerana, Apis mellifera, Apis dorsata or Apis florea honey. What is known about honey and health in general is in the health guide.

Himalayan cliff honey, from Apis laboriosa, does have folk uses. Hunters at Dharche say it has been used as medicine, for example by people with stomach ailments, and some villagers feed it to oxen and mules to improve their immunity. We found no clinical evaluation of those uses.

Cliff honey can be toxic

When the bees feed on rhododendron, the honey can contain grayanotoxin. Reported effects include dizziness, nausea, fainting, a slow heart rate and low blood pressure, and significant effects have been reported after a tablespoon or less. If anyone feels dizzy or faint after eating wild honey, seek medical help.

Sources: Kathmandu Post, May 2023; Mad honey case series from Nepal; Utah Poison Control Center