In a traditional Japanese grave, we found a wild colony of Japanese honey bees that we will transfer into a hive.

The first step is to cut out the combs containing the brood. After that, each comb is attached to a frame one by one.

Since the honey cannot be transferred into the hive it is harvested. Sometimes, over 10 kilos can be harvested from a single colony.

Next, we capture the Japanese honeybees with a net and transfer them into the hive. We use a small vacuum to collect bees that are not captured with the net.

If the queen bee is inside the hive, the remaining bees outside will gradually start to enter the hive.

Once all the bees are inside, the entrance of the hive is closed off. And then we move the beehive and set it up at the new location.

Checking in one week later and the colony looks like it is doing well.


Japan has two honey bees, the native Apis cerana japonica (Japanese honey bee) and the imported Apis mellifera (Western honey bee).

The Japanese honey bee is one of the subspecies of Apis cerana. Other subspecies can be found in Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand and several other Asian countries.

To know more about Japanese bees, please visit my website.

Japanese natural beekeeping
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