The history of the honeybee and humans has been entwined throughout.
Honeybees have long been prized for their honey, and in both ancient and contemporary religions, they are represented as symbols of cooperation, fertility, and hard work.
Since honey gatherers in southern Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe are depicted in prehistoric cave drawings, bees have been essential to the development of human traditions, agriculture, and society.
Even today, modern agriculture greatly depends on bees for crop pollination services.
Stone Age (Mesolithic) Honey Gatherers
The Cave of the Spider, also known as La Cueva de la Araña, is located close to Valencia, Spain, and contains the oldest known record of honey gathering.
This 15,000 year old painting depicts a woman perilously collecting honey from a bee nest perched on the edge of a cliff using a rope ladder.
Similar depictions of people collecting honey in the wild can be found in other similar drawings. Honeybee nests are typically located high up in tree cavities and on the side of rock cliffs.
In many parts of the world, people still collect honey using this method today. The Bedouin tribes of the Syrian desert, the Veddhas of Sri Lanka, and the Gurung people of Nepal are a few examples of this.
For many of these people, collecting wild honey can be a significant part of rituals, a source of food, and a valuable source of income.
Beekeeping in Ancient Egypt
The first documented instance of structured beekeeping took place in ancient Egypt, where beekeepers could oversee colonies of honeybees, commonly referred to as Egyptian Honeybees (Apis mellifera lamarcki), using hives made of twigs and reed.
Beekeeping had spread throughout the Nile region by 1500 BCE, and farmers’ honey was accepted as payment by Egyptian officials.
In this way, honey was gathered in clay pots and graded based on color and quality.
Not only were honeybee products used as food, but they were also utilized in medicine and religious ceremonies.
The Egyptian gods were frequently offered honey, which was also frequently used as an antiseptic to treat wounds.
Moreover, beeswax was a key component in the mummification process and was used to manufacture candles.
The god of the sun, Ra, was said to have turned into a bee when he wept, bringing fertility through the pollination of the Nile’s flowers, according to Egyptian mythology.
Beekeeping in ancient China
Even though Mesolithic honey gatherers are not known to have lived in China, it is possible that some people did collect honey from populations of wild honeybees. China is home to three species of honeybees: the Eastern Honeybee, the Giant Honeybee, and the Dwarf Honeybee.
China has a long history of apiculture, using the native Eastern Honeybee for beeswax and honey production in addition to crop pollination.
By the time of the East Han Dynasty, beekeeping was well-established and extremely profitable, despite the fact that the Eastern Honeybee forages in a smaller area and produces less honey than its European counterpart.
Because of this, early documents mention professional beekeepers and the development of an industry centered on the production of honey and wax for the Emperor, his court, and the upper classes with higher education.
Beekeeping in Ancient Maya
The Mayan culture had existed in Mesoamerica for more than 1,800 years before Spanish settlers arrived there in the 16th century.
The Mayans are thought to have had a highly advanced understanding of beekeeping, being able to split up hives to increase their population and being careful not to overharvest so that the honeybees would have enough stores for honey.
Early Spanish reports state that the Mayans possessed hundreds or even thousands of native stingless honeybee hives spread across well-established apiaries.
Hollowed out logs shaped like big drums were used to construct each hive. Each log was then individually carved with decorations, figures, and the hive owner’s sign.
The circular stone discs served as end stoppers, and the bees would enter and exit the hive through a hole in the center. Dating from 300 BCE to 300 CE, these stone discs are the world’s oldest known beekeeping artifacts.
The honeybee species that the Mayans used is indigenous to Mesoamerica and is known as the Stingless Honeybee because it does not have stingers for protection.
Usually found in tropical rainforests in the Yucatan region of present-day Mexico and America, stingless honeybees construct their nests inside tree cavities.
Unfortunately, it is estimated that over 90% of Stingless Honeybee populations have declined in the last 20 years due to severe deforestation, widespread use of insecticides, and the introduction of European and African honeybees.
Throughout the European Middle Ages and Colonial Eras, Beekeeping
The methods used to gather honey in medieval Europe were derived from early beekeeping techniques, which involved looking for large trees that were home to wild honeybees.
In order to make protective wood panels with flight entrances and to make honeybee nests easier to access while providing shelter from inclement weather and predators, beekeepers would chop off small portions of the tree after discovering honeybee nests.
In an effort to shorten their height and thicken their trunks, it was also customary to chop off the tops of developing trees in order to make more man-made cavities in the trees.
This type of tree beekeeping was popular throughout northern Europe, resulting in the establishment of “bee forests,” which were typically owned by the nobility or the church.
Although it required a lot of time, beekeeping in bee forests was significant to the economies of the European regions.
Other hive designs for honeybees included “skeps,” or basket weave hives, and “log hives.” In many parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in the countries of Germany, Poland, and Lithuania, these techniques were applied.
In essence, log hives were made of chopped rounds from trees that housed beehive nests.
The log hives would then typically be painted, carved, and in some cases turned into elaborate human figures. Skeps, on the other hand, were generally constructed from a mixture of straw, reeds, and sedges, or willow wicker.
These techniques had the advantage of allowing for the transportation of the hives to various locations and their proximity to populated areas.
In order to shield honeybee hives from wind and rain, specially constructed stone structures known as “bee boles” were frequently built in south or southeast facing walls next to orchards and gardens in Britain, France, and other parts of Western Europe.
European honeybees were among the first animals to travel with the early settlers during the Age of Discovery and the colonization of the Americas that followed. This information can be found in ship cargo manifests.
Because honeybees would pollinate crops and produce valuable honey and beeswax, they were seen as an integral part of colonial life.
Furthermore, honey was used instead of heavily taxed sugar during the time that England levied taxes on American colonists.
As a result, beeswax and honey were valuable sources of income and were used to make mead, lipstick, candlesticks, and shoe polish.
Because of this, honeybee populations grew throughout North America; however, they did not arrive in Western Canada until 1856, when they first arrived on Vancouver Island.
Current Beekeeping Techniques
While some societies still hunt honey from wild bees, most honey nowadays is collected from managed and kept bees.
Currently, the Langstroth hive is the most popular type of beehive design. It consists of separate wooden frames and wooden boxes that are easily removable for honey and wax collection and hive health inspection.
One additional advantage of the Langstroth hive is its ease of mobility. Hives frequently migrate during the growing season to find the best forage and flowers with high nectar yields.
In Europe, beekeepers typically relocate their honeybee hives to rural areas towards the end of the growing season. The air in France is filled with the sweet scent of lavender flowers, while heather is in bloom in the UK.
Moving the hives is worthwhile because these honey varieties can command a high price. As this is going on, migratory beekeepers in Central Asia in the nations of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and southern Kazakhstan move their hives in wagon trains that can contain as many as 300 or 400 hives.
Migratory bee wagons will move to the best areas of wildflower forage in April and May when nectar rich flowers begin to bloom.
When massive berry, nut, and fruit farms were built To make money from beekeeping in the United States, the most profitable approach was through migratory beekeeping and their pollination services.
Thousands of hives are transported by semi trucks on the highways to expansive agricultural operations during the main growing season.
The largest pollination event on record takes place in February every year in California when honeybees swarm over 800,000 acres of almond groves.
Afterward, in order to pollinate crops such as oranges in Florida, berries in the Northeast, and alfalfa in the Midwest, commercial beekeepers will move their hives to other regions of the nation.
Because native pollinating species are insufficient in an agricultural system that depends on such massive monoculture operations, honeybees are transported in from all over the nation to assist with pollination.
The Risks to Pollinating Species, Including Honeybees
Major honeybee diseases are a problem for beekeepers nowadays. One such disease is caused by the Varroa destructor bee mite, which is thought to be a contributing factor in the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Furthermore, because tainted nectar and pollen are spread throughout the hive, the extensive use and exposure to pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides endanger not just the life of a single bee but also the hive’s survival.
The absence of nectar rich forage areas throughout the year and the movement of bees for pollination services only serve to exacerbate the issues of disease and potentially toxic environments.
Despite the potential for increased hive productivity, migratory beekeeping can be highly stressful for the bees, increasing their susceptibility to illness.
While the Western honeybee species’ global migration and dispersal have improved crop yields and honey production, they also pose a serious threat to the health and well being of other pollinating species and honeybee populations on a commercial basis.
The introduction of diseases and habitat loss to native bee species occurred in numerous regions of the world following the arrival of the Western Honeybee.
There are worries that introduced Western Honeybees are outcompeting native stingless bees and other pollinating species for food in places like Australia.
There is evidence that the spread of large scale commercial beekeeping operations and the spread of honeybee diseases to native populations of bumblebees can be linked in both Canada and the United States.
While native stingless bees used by the local indigenous people and the ancient Mayan beekeepers of centuries past were virtually exterminated in Central and South America due to the introduction of “Africanized Bees.”
Given that Western Honeybees are a relatively new species to Vancouver Island and the rest of the world, it’s critical to remember that other species also contribute significantly to the pollination of native plant species and our food crops.
Because of this, honeybees and other pollinators should be viewed as partners in providing pollination services.
The best way to combat these serious risks to honeybees and other pollinating species is to encourage organic farming and local beekeepers.
By creating wholesome and long-lasting environments that boast an extensive assortment of perennial flowers and fodder crops, we can effectively combat the hazards presented by illness and industrial monocultures.
Market Forecast for Apiculture (2021-2026)
The segments of the global apiculture market are
- Hive Type (KTBH, Langstroth, Traditional)
- Final Good (Beets, Honey, Propolis, Royal Jelly, Honey Dew, Bee Bread, and Others)
- Use (Medical, Food & Drink, Cosmetics, & Other)
- Region: (Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East)
Analysis of Size, Share, Prospects, and Opportunities, 2020–2027
Food and drink, agriculture, the military, medicine, cosmetics, paints, and chemicals are among the many end users that were evaluated.
Numerous uses have been found for propolis, which is made up of a variety of plant resins that the bees gather and use to seal holes in the hive.
Numerous pharmacological characteristics are now recognized, such as anti inflammatory, anti oxidant, anti bacterial, anti fungal, anti tumor, and some anti viral ones.
Even though there is some evidence that royal jelly may have some cholesterol lowering, anti inflammatory, wound healing, and antibiotic properties, it is still commonly used as a food supplement.
Image Source: Industry ARC Analysis
The Benefits of Honey
List the health advantages of honey and use this sugar substitute with a golden hue.
- Honey purifies arteries and blood.
- Using honey to treat a throat infection is also beneficial.
- The best way for kids to improve their memory at a young age is to use honey.
- Using honey helps prevent blood pressure, digestive issues, coughs, colds, and eye disorders.
- Additionally, honey is used in cosmetics.
- To avoid fever, try a teaspoon of honey mixed with some fresh butter.
- Using honey gives the body a lot of energy and improves athletic performance.
- Helps in heart disease and cancer prevention
- Lessens the incidence of ulcers and other digestive issues
- Anti fungal and anti bacterial
Potential Beekeeping Products
Bees wax: To produce honey that feeds the hive, bees gather nectar and pollen. They produce wax in their bodies as they eat honey.
Bees create combs by chewing on this wax and adding a bit more honey to it.
Beekeepers open these “honey pantries” at the ideal moment to gather extra honey, and we gather combs to create candles made entirely of beeswax.
Also referred to as black locust or false acacia tree, the Robinia pseudoacacia flower yields nectar that is used to make acacia honey. It tastes sweet and delicate, with an aroma reminiscent of flowers.
Acacia honey conveniently stays liquid for longer and crystallizes much more slowly than regular honey.
The bees that gather nectar from the Ajwain (also known as Bishop’s weed) flowers produce Ajwain honey.
This deep hued honey comes from the heart of Madhya Pradesh and tastes very strong.
In addition to its many medical uses, ajwain is well known for its antifungal, antioxidant, and antibacterial qualities.
Richer Than Regular Royal Jelly
It is a naturally occurring energy source that enables individuals to work longer and more intently without becoming exhausted. It is a health enhancer that improves both your mental and physical health.
You can enhance your lifestyle by incorporating Royal Jelly enhanced with honey into your daily routine.
Jamun Honey
For diabetics, jamun is beneficial. Anti-diabetic properties are found in black plum. Assists in controlling blood sugar levels and converting starch into energy.
From the bees that gather honey from the Jamun flowers, Jamun honey is extracted. Nothing tastes better than this. The floral material from which it is extracted gives it a unique color, flavor, and aroma.
Harvested in August, during the blooming of the Jamun flowers, it comes from the Jamun region.
Litchi Honey
One of the many health advantages of Super Bee Honey, which is regarded as the best natural sweetener, is that it helps to regulate blood sugar levels.
Regular use relieves fever, colds, and cough. Super bee honey helps you lose weight and keeps your digestive system operating properly.
Boosts immunity and supplies energy. Remain youthful, in good shape, and improve your athletic ability.
Multi Flora Honey
Nature’s delightful and nourishing gift to humanity is Multiflora Honey.Rich in nutrients honey collected from indigenous Indian plants.
In addition to vitamins and minerals that are essential for life, honey also has naturally occurring enzymes.
Digestion, tissue regeneration, bone maintenance, muscle contraction, and even thought itself are all aided by these.
Conclusion
As a business, raising bees requires little initial investment and yields substantial profits over time.
Thus, you must first resolve this business before taking the necessary steps to become a prosperous businessman.
Starting a business requires an initial investment of several lakhs, but the returns are substantial because honey is hard to come by in the market and can be easily sold as organic honey for 400 to 700 rupees.
Rates can differ between regions based on the demand for honey and the honey producers.
