Karura Forest #13: Huruma BeeZone
The cache, a small camoflaged screw-capped plastic pot, is hidden at waist/chest height under bark pieces in a hole in a small multi-stemmed tree on the left (east) side of the clearing located a short distance down a small side trail running from the new northern trail to a collection of bees hives of the Karura Honey Project which is an income-generating project for the nearby Huruma Village.
For background information on Karura Forest including access, fees, features, a detailed trail map and useful links, see GC4PD3V Karura Forest #1: Intro, Info & Entry
To reach the cache: From the location of Karura Forest #12: Wangari's Corner, head SE past junctions 34, 35 and 37 to the junction at S 01 13.783 E 036 49.710. Here turn north and head down the slope across the small bridge over the Ruaka River and on up the other bank turning right (east) at the top of the slope towards the cache location.
Huruma Village is a poverty-stricken slum settlement on the edge of the wealth Runda Estate and is unique in having its own website. See here for fascinating info on the history, features and people of the village. See here for an account of the Karura Honey Project.
The hives are populated by the infamous African Honey Bee (Apis mellifera scutellata) a subspecies of the Western honey bee native to central and southern Africa, though at the southern tip replaced by the Cape honey bee. This subspecies forms part of the ancestry of the Africanized bees known as 'killer bees' spreading through America. The species was first imported across the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil before it spread to Central America, South America, and southern areas of the United States. It thrives in tropical areas and is not well adapted for cold areas with heavy rainfall
A single African bee sting is no more venomous than a single European bee sting, though African honeybees respond more quickly when disturbed than European ones. They send out 3-4 times more workers in response to a threat and will also pursue an intruder for a greater distance from the hive - so take care not to disturb them - although 100-300 stings can kill, the average adult lethal dose 500-1100.
The African bee produces far less honey than its European counterpart, whilst producing more swarms and absconding (abandoning its nest). So they are less desirable except where the proclivity of African bees give beekeepers no other option due to the Africans' tendency to invade and take over European nests.
The appearance of the African honeybee is very similar to the European honeybee but it is slightly smaller with an average body length of a worker is 19 mm. Its upper body is covered in fuzz, and its abdomen is striped with black.
See here for more fascinating info on the bee including foraging behavoiur, parasitization, and evolution and here for a short video history of the bee.
See here for a somewhat sensationalised documentary on the invasion of killer bees into the southern USA and here for a link to numerous other videos on the bees.