Joe wrote:

Does anyone know the bee that was likely employed
> by the Viet Cong in the Veitnam war?  Or references
> to the specific race of bee used?
>

I have not been to Viet Nam.  But based on bee observations in the
Philippines I could comment that:

1.  Bumblebees are present and common in South East Asia.  They generally
nest in the ground as they do here, but one could excavate a nest and put it
in a box.  There is one large bee which is likely a bumblebee, but possibly
a solitary bee which people told me had an exceptionally toxic sting.  I
never saw it.

2.  Apis Dorsata is commonly hunted, and also managed (on "tikung" planks)
in Viet Nam.  But you could not "beat the hive with a stick" because the
comb is always exposed and open.  You only have to give the comb a tap or a
light touch to initiate a mass attack at any rate.  The bee does not look at
all like a bumblebee, but it is very large.   It would make no sense to blow
up the comb with a grenade.  The cut branch with the nest on it would have
to be suspended with a rope and a trip wire could just release the rope and
the nest would fall.  That I could imagine.  The rest of the journalism
seems far fetched.

3.  Apis Cerana is the native bee which is commonly managed in South East
Asia.  It is a cavity nesting bee and is kept in boxes.  It is similar in
look to mellifera, but smaller.  Although Trevor has posted that it is
feared they will be a problem in Australia because they frequently swarm and
might nest in mailboxes, etc., and be a source of bee attacks, I found them
to be a very docile bee.  But they would be the most easily obtained bee for
the Viet Cong.  They also do not look like a bumblebee,  but I have had
people accuse my bees of malicious behaviour after running over a bumblebee
nest with a lawnmower.

4.  The remaining social bee, apis florea, is tiny and gentle pacifists.
They can sting but it would be impossible to subvert them for military
purposes.

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