I just came home from an Aeta mountain people settlement in Kanawan, Morong Bataan and they were preparing to demonstrate their wild honey collection techniques. The native word for honey is “pulot”.
Since these people live in the mountains and the forests, they know the trees, the flowers, the seasons and the bees.
First step is to locate the bee hive.
Second step is to clump together these 4 foot long sticks kind of wood and wrap some special kinds of leaves together. Tie this underneath the bee hive and light the bottom. The smoke from this special combination makes the bees dizzy, disoriented and drives them away.
Third step is to get the whole hive and collect the honey from inside.
There is really no danger from them getting stung by the bees. The only danger there is if the hives are located in dangerous locations where you could possibly fall.
Wild honey collection is done December to May. The rest of the year they say is the rainy season and they let the bees recover and regenerate.
By the way the Aetas describe the honey collection techniques it is very easy, must have been a staple thing to do for humans since the time humans became intelligent. Honey must have been a raw paleolithic staple.