🍚 Hebo-meshi(Hebo rice)

“Hebo” refers to the larvae of the common Asiatic yellowjacket and other ground bees, and are also known simply as "bee larvae”. In the past, hebo was a valuable source of protein in the mountainous area stretching from Shinshu to Okumikawa, and the adults and larvae of local bees were boiled in a sweet and spicy sauce and mixed with rice to make hebo rice, hebo kanroni (hebo simmered in soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and starch syrup), and hebo gohei-mochi (hebo rice cakes). Nowadays, hebo consumption is rare, and they are generally served as a delicacy for guests. The common Asiatic yellowjacket builds nests in the ground, and locals make use of their habit of bringing food straight back to the nest to find their nests. To do so, they shape the meat of a river fish, chicken, or frog into a ball that is easy for the bees to carry, and attach cotton to it as a marker. They then use the marker to follow the bees and find their hive. These bees used to nest in paddies, but they now nest in the mountains due to the effects of pesticides. When competitions for the heaviest hebo nests were held, hebo nests would be dug up and placed in nesting boxes in early summer. The hebo would then be fed and reared until the competitions in the autumn. Participants in these competitions may also hunt for large nests in the fall instead of rearing them.