The honey harvesting season is from April to September. As April approaches, the Kattunayaka men will begin preparations for their ?treasure-hunt’ in the deep forests. Wild honeybees make hives every year on the same trees, which the tribal people call ‘honey trees’. They spend more than a week in the forests to collect honey. The honey is collected only at night.?

The flowering and frutescent stage of trees in the sanctuary is important in the production of honey. Climatic change might adversely affect frutescent stage and lead to decline in honey production, Anilkumar, Director of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation here, said. The bees?collect nectar mainly from the different species of Terminalia (Maruthu ) trees inside the forest and ?honey production is primarily dependent on the blooming of this tree, he added.

source the hindu