ঢাকামঙ্গলবার , ২৬ মে ২০২৬
Right next to the Press Club in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, there are numerous tea stalls. Among the rows of stalls, one has drawn unusual attention due to the large number of bees frequenting it. The shopkeeper is occasionally seen capturing the bees and sealing them in a plastic bag.
As you approach the stall, you’ll notice many bees sitting on the sugar container. Several others are landing on the milk can, teacups, and other items. Some bees hover and fly around the stall, while a plastic bag beside the shopkeeper already contains a number of captured bees.
Liton Hossain, the shopkeeper, comes from Jamalpur, a district in eastern Bangladesh. He lives with his family in Malibagh, Dhaka, and has been running his tea stall on the sidewalk near the Press Club for over five years. For the past six months, however, his stall has been unusually frequented by bees.
Every morning, as he opens his shop, swarms of bees gather around the sugar container. Their presence has made some customers hesitant to drink tea there. To address this, Liton traps the bees—sealing them in a plastic bag. After about two hours, the bees inside typically die.
I asked the shopkeeper why the bees were coming to his stall and why he was trapping and suffocating them. Irritated by the question, Liton replied, “Because of these bees, my sales have dropped. Many people avoid drinking tea at my stall when they see bees on the sugar.” Later, after promising to release the bees in a nearby forest, the reporter took them away.
At the Paltan intersection near the Press Club, bees were also seen at another tea stall. However, the shopkeeper, Sabuj Ahmed, does not kill them. Instead, he gently moves the bees away with a spoon before scooping sugar. A few nearby tea stalls also had bees hovering around their sugar containers, though in much smaller numbers. Additionally, bees are often spotted at tea and sweet shops in various parts of Dhaka.
A study published in March 2023 by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) found that Dhaka requires 20% green space, yet currently has less than 8.5%.
Experts note that the shortage of trees and flowers in Dhaka has led to a food crisis for bees. Due to climate change and a lack of natural food sources, bees are increasingly turning to artificial alternatives such as sugar at tea stalls.
Professor Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain of the Department of Entomology at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka has studied the feeding behavior of bees. Pointing to the natural food shortage they face, he explained: ‘There aren’t many trees in Dhaka. When trees bloom, bees can collect food. But in the absence of flowers, they turn to artificial sources like sugar, molasses, and sweets.
Professor Sakhawat Hossain from the Department of Entomology also explained why some tea stalls attract more bees than others. He believes bees choose specific stalls based on factors such as the distance from their hive to the food source (like a tea or sweet shop), as well as the amount of sunlight the location receives.
On the other hand, there are differing views on whether bees sitting on sugar, sweets, or tea cups pose any health risks to humans.
Professor Sakhawat Hossain from the Department of Entomology at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University believes there is no such risk. He explains that while bees do carry their own microbes, they are not harmful to humans. Additionally, bees typically avoid unclean places.
