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The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume IV - 2012 82  A Common Giant Honeybee ( Apis dorsata ) is the biggest honeybee and has the largest comb as well. Its size is approximately 1.5-2 cm. A common giant honey bee has yellow and black stripe abdomen, strong wing, and can fl y in high speed. They generally live in a forest or a suburb, building their hive on a tall tree, outside a house or a temple, a tall building, or under a high tank. Their comb contains only one layer with a big half circle shape (around 0.5-2 m.) and has no coverage unlike the two previously mentioned honeybees. A common giant honeybee is fi erce and it can sting in a much painful manner than any other honeybees. Therefore, many people mistakenly recognize this giant honeybee as an Oriental hornet because their sizes are very similar. Many patients stung by a wasp usually mistakenly informed that they were stung by a bee. In fact, a bee can sting its target only once in its life and then it will die. People that are accidentally stung by a bee normally will not die. However, those people who intentionally hit or disturb the bee comb may be stung many times by several bees which might lead to death. Patients that are stung by wasps will have more severe condition than ones that are stung by bees since a wasp, unlike a bee, can sting numerous times. Therefore, there are always reports informing a patient died from being stung by wasps more than bees. April is the month that giant honeybees are most productive of generating honey. Consequently, there is a phrase saying “The Fifth month honey”. This kind of honey is the most popular and expensive in Thailand and Malaysia . Nowadays, there is no need to hunt A.dorsata in the forest since they can be kept as domestic bees. Moreover, their honey can be produced annually, making it suitable for organic honey industry. An Eastern Hive Bee ( Apis cerana ) is bigger than a dwarf honeybee but smaller than a giant honeybee with brown and yellow stripes abdomen. Eastern hive bees can build their comb inside a tree hollow or a building that is shut and dark. Their comb is a combination of many small combs in a parallel manner called “multiple combs”, with 30 cm. diameter (Ruttner, 1988). This type of honeybee can be raised in an arti fi cial hive or a trunk. They can store honey 20 g. per comb which is more than dwarf honeybees and giant honeybees. Generally, honey season of an eastern hive bee is the same as a blooming season of rambutan, durian, and coconut’s fl owers. Since this honey can be collected several times a year, Eastern hive Bee is the future of organic Organic Honey of Thailand

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