(bees buzzing) - [Coyote] Oh boy,
starting to get swarmed. Holy mackerel. Dude, you are like, covered
in bees right now, man. Oh my gosh, my legs are shaking. (percussive music) (tranquil music) - [Coyote] A light breeze
drifts across the desert sand as morning sun crests
above the mountains. All seems calm amongst
the rocky outcrops, yet nestled down between
the cracks and ridges, a powerful giant
quietly slumbers. To disturb this
creature by accident would be a literal nightmare. Disturb it intentionally
and you will likely seal your own fate. Oh boy, starting to get swarmed. Holy mackerel. - [Coyote] It sounds as
if I speak of a creature from a storybook, but
this is no creature of myth and lore. It is a very real animal
that, since the mid 1980s, has become one of
the southwest's most
notorious threats. Killer bees. So, what is a killer bee? Well, to keep it simple,
it's basically a hybrid between an African and
a European honeybee. They're typically more
defensive, faster, and more aggressive
than other bee species. Tucson, Arizona is
just one of the places that has recently fallen under
the cloud of killer bees, and today we will
be working alongside bee specialist Chris Britton. Chris monitors several
beehives that exist naturally in the mountainsides, and our
goal is to extract aged honey from a wild hive so we can
compare it to his locally farmed honey and determine
which one is more delicious. Using a drone will
help us locate the hive and determine exactly how
we should approach it. This is an incredibly
dangerous mission, so to protect ourselves
from the thousands of bees that will be swarming
and trying to sting us, we will be wearing bee suits. We are taking extra precautions
by taping up the wrists and ankles to ensure the
bees cannot work their way into the suits. Okay, so, this is
the moment of truth. We are completely suited up. This is probably going
to be one of the craziest and most dangerous
things we've ever done on an episode of Breaking Trail. The following scene was filmed under the supervision
of bee specialists. Never approach a
beehive in the wild. - Okay, Chris, so this is
kind of our last checkpoint, about as close as we
feel comfortable getting without the bees
actually swarming out. Now, I'm looking at the
hive and I see there's lighter-colored comb
on top, in the middle, it's slightly golden,
and then at the bottom, it almost looks like it's brown. What's the best area for me to
extract comb and honey from? - We're gonna go right to
the center of this hive. - Okay.
- So, not on the dark and not on the completely light. That light stuff is not
gonna have anything in it. At this present point in
time, the bees are working more into the layers of
comb, so you're gonna go right to, basically, the
middle, where it's a little bit golden, but it starts to
turn just a little bit, and there's some capped
honey right there. It may be last season's
honey, but it's right there where the bees are going
to be working, and we'll be able to just get in
there and grab a bunch. - [Coyote] Okay, cool. Well, I think at this point,
let's get into the hive and get this honey. You guys all ready? Cutting into the hive causes
no harm to the bees, and this extraction method is commonly
used by honey farmers. In the wild, hives are
often invaded by animals, which, in turn, causes an
increase with productivity, and in a matter of
days, the hive will be completely reconstructed. Okay, I'm right
underneath the hive. Whoa. Look at that. Do not want to get stung. Bees are starting to come out. You can see all the comb here. - [Chris] And over here. - [Coyote] They definitely
know that we're here. - [Chris] You hear 'em? - [Coyote] I can hear
'em, they're going crazy. - [Chris] How hard is it? - [Coyote] Wow, it's
hard, very waxy. Oh boy, starting to get swarmed. Holy mackerel. I'm nervous. You see, they're trying to
sting in through the mask. (bees buzzing loudly) Here they come. This is the outer layer here. Dude, you are like, covered
in bees right now, man. - [Chris] We gotta hurry up. (intense music) - [Coyote] We are
absolutely surrounded by killer bees right now. Fortunately, they are not
stinging through the suit. I got a couple of
good pieces of comb, but I've already come out here. There we go, found
comb with honey. Some stingers are actually
getting through my suit. I am getting stung
at this point. Ow. Jeez, okay, alright, I'm
gonna cut out a big section of comb from right here in
the middle, can you see this? That is all filled with honey. I'm gonna cut through that and
we're gonna get out of here. Ugh, it's sticky! This is it, this is good honey! Oh, look at that! Okay. Woo! That is pure, golden honey! Alright, I'm gonna put it
inside the mason jar here. Yep, here, let's
back up a little bit. I can't even imagine what it
would be like to be out here and come across a
swarm like this. This could definitely kill you. We are probably surrounded
by 30,000 bees at this point. I mean, it's absolutely crazy. They're attacking the GoPro,
they're attacking the cameras. - The microphone. - [Coyote] The microphones,
everything is getting bombarded by bees right now. - It's hard to even
touch the camera. They're just covered in bees. Like, you can't even tip the... - [Coyote] It's crazy. Alright, look at that,
that's about what we want, right there. Woo, that is absolutely
filled with honey. So what are we
doing here, Chris? - I'm basically covering
the air with smoke, so that way we can actually
get the bees to change their pheromones so
you guys can walk away. - [Mark] 'Cause they'll
follow us to our car. - Oh, they'll sting you
all the way to their car. Africanized honeybees
know no limits. - [Coyote] I can't even
imagine what it would be like to be out here and come
across a swarm like this. This could definitely kill you. Wow. Well, we escaped the
swarm of killer bees. Now, the next step is to
compare the killer bee honey to European bee honey and
see which one tastes better. To the victor go the spoils. What you're looking at
right there are two jars of delicious raw honey. Now, right here, we
have honeybee honey, and on this side,
the killer bee honey. Now, we certainly had to
go through quite the ordeal to get both of these honeys. They're all in my face! We are absolutely surrounded
by killer bees right now. But it was totally worth it,
because this is the moment we have all been waiting for. The comparison between
killer bee honey and honeybee honey. Which one is better? You guys ready to find out? - [Mark] Oh yeah, I'm ready. Do we get to taste test also? - Oh, yeah, you guys are
gonna taste this too. Okay, I'm gonna start
with the honeybee honey. We take off the cap here. Wow, that smells
incredibly fresh. Big spoonful right there. - [Mark] Oh, wow.
- I just go for it, right? - [Mark] I think you
go for the whole thing. - Wow. That's sticky. Oh, really sweet, I can
taste all those granules of honey, they're starting
to disintegrate in my mouth. Wow. That is delicious, oh my gosh. That is an unbelievable honey. That might be the best
honey that I have ever had. Here, let me get a
little bit of this honey on the tip of the knife. Go ahead there, Mark,
just take a little squidge off there.
- [Mark] Don't cut myself. - [Coyote] That's good, huh? - Wow, you could eat that
straight, like, all day. - Wow, I took a big
spoonful of that. - [Mark] You feeling
the sugar rush yet? - Yeah, I think I'm about to. Now, this is what I've
really been excited about. Let me get a big...
- [Mark] Get a gooey one. - [Coyote] Hunk of it
out here, let me just scoop some out onto my hand. Yeah, I'm going full
Pooh-bear here, guys. Let me get my paw in there. Oh, yeah. I've always wanted to do that. Look at that honey. Look at the different
colors in the honey. You have the darker
honey, and you have the real light golden honey. Think it's gonna
make me throw up? - [Mark] Nah, man,
it's like candy. - Whoa! That is crazy sweet! - [Mario] Put the rest in there. - [Mark] Can you
do the whole comb? Hey, Pooh-bear,
how's that taste? - Very sweet. - [Mark] Very sweet indeed. - This is almost making my
eyes water, it's so sweet. - [Mark] Bravo, I'm impressed. That was quite the honeycomb
you just had there. - Let me wipe off my
face a little bit here. Little bit more presentable. Wow, that is so sugary! I'm gonna have a major sugar
high for hours right now. You guys wanna try this, right? - [Mark] Yeah. - Stick your finger out, there. Just wait 'til it
gets in your teeth. Soon as it hits your lips. - [Mark] Wow.
- [Coyote] Right? Now, both of these honeys
taste amazing, but honestly? I think the killer bee
honey is a little more tasty and a little more... Gave me a rush of
energy, like, the second that it hit my mouth. But I think both types
would be excellent on anything that
you put them on. Although, going to get
killer bee honey is something that I can never recommend
anybody out there watching ever try and go do. Probably the best way to do
it is to buy from a local honey farmer and have
something that's pure and granulated, just like this. And you put it on toast,
you can put it on... You name it, honey goes good
on absolutely everything. Ahhh, I can totally feel,
like, a sugar rush coming on right now, that is crazy. My hands are so sticky. - [Mark] Hey, Pooh-bear. - What? - [Mark] You get enough? - No! How did that silly old
bear get his paw into that jar of honey all the time? - [Mark] He didn't get his
paw stung by bees yesterday. - Yeah, I got fat paw right now. Watch this, two bee
honeys at the same time. (men yelling and groaning) Sugar rush! Full honey face. - [Mark] Mario, there aren't
any bears out here, are there? ♪ Climbin' in a honey tree,
Pooh bear, I know he's out there ♪ It's me and it's you, oh
silly oh Winnie the Pooh - Well, I would say we
endured quite a bit to get both of these honeys up
close for the cameras. Aside from wearing the bee
beard, which resulted in me being stung 32 times, to
then scaling the side of a cliff to extract comb and honey
from a killer bee hive, we went through it all
to do this taste test, and at the end of the day, I
have to say that the killer bee honey is actually
the most tasty. I'm Coyote Peterson,
bee brave, stay wild, we'll see you on
the next adventure. One more handful. Ooh, that's some good honey. (inspirational music) There are many
misconceptions surrounding the Africanized honeybee. Or, as they have become
famously vilified by so many, as killer bees. Nearly all attacks happen
when a hive is accidentally disturbed, or a swarm is
provoked by a non-professional who is attempting
to exterminate it. And while many people
are stung every year, very few deaths are
actually reported. If you see a swarm or come
across a hive in the wild, quickly and quietly move
in the opposite direction. And if you are looking
for some delicious honey, well, my advice is
to support local and buy it from a honey farmer. If you thought getting swarmed
by killer bees was intense, make sure to go back
and see what happened when I tried to trade in my
fur beard for a bee beard. And don't forget, subscribe! So you can join me and the crew on this season of
Breaking Trail! They're all over my face! My eyes! Oh man, my face hurts. - [Mark] You should see the
sting you have in your neck.
