The History of Beekeeping

A beekeeper's job involves maintaining groups of social honeybees for the purpose of harvesting their honey. Different types of honeybees are used depending on where the beekeeping is taking place. Here are some facts about this ancient human activity.

Origin

Beekeeping began around 13,000 B.C. Ancient humans would distract colonies of bees with smoke before breaking open the hives to gather honey.

Domestication

The Israelites, Egyptians and Romans are just a few of the many ancient cultures who domesticated honeybees in hollowed logs, pots and wooden boxes.

Transition

In the late eighteenth century, Thomas Wilding proposed various ways where bees would not have to be killed in order to harvest honey. It was at this time that the transition between early and modern beekeeping was made.

Movable Comb Hive

Lorenzo Langstroth, known as the "Father of American Beekeeping," created the first movable comb hive in the nineteenth century. The contraption--where multiple hives can be built by bees and carefully harvested using movable sheets in a single, large container--is still used today.

Hybridization

Also in the nineteenth century, beekeepers began to breed bees to produce more honey and to be resistant to various diseases.

References

• Beekeeping History