EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Bee Logs

Beehive Log
Majhgaun, Nepal

Explanation:  After a day's trek into the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, we reached the remote rural mountain village of Majhgaun, and are hosted by the wonderfully friendly and accommodating residents there.  The village is located within the Annapurna Conservation Area, where the Annapurna Conservation Area Project ACAP was established in 1992.  

Well, I quickly noticed that large logs had been lashed to the outside walls of some of the buildings.  Having seen this elsewhere, although not on the sides of buildings, I recognized these as beehives!  

Indeed, the name of these structures is mauri ko chaka, derived from mauri meaning bee, and chaka meaning hive, so mauri ko chaka transliterates to "bee of hive."

The purpose is a source of honey for consumption by the villagers, and apparently even lashing the hives right against the buildings does not cause concern for adverse encounters of the honeybee swarms.  

  
The village itself is built on and among steep terraced slopes, created for growing rice and other foods and vegetables.  

BTW, this village is indeed named Majhgaun, derived from the Nepali words majh or madhya meaning middle, and gaun, meaning village ... because Majhgaun is located between two other villages.  What a practical name!