Beekeeping History - 4 Interesting Facts For Bee Lovers
Bee keeping dates back to the 13th century BC when it was practiced by ancient Egyptians. Once it was introduced by John Harbison to the United States, it became more modernized with updated techniques and became the main profession and financial sustenance for beekeepers. There are other by products that are derived from honey which is propolis and royal jelly which are used for medicinal purposes. Not much has changed since ancient times in the use of products derived from beehives.
1. Different varieties of bees brought into the US
Bees of different species were brought from various countries like New Zealand and Europe. This was more of a hobby for those who lived on farms than a main means of earning their keep. Farming was the main occupation and beekeeping was just a side hobby that was followed by the relatives of the farmers, who had access to space on the farm and found it easy to keep bees. This hobby then was passed from generation to generation.
2. From honey and bee wax the bee hive changed with science
In early days, bees were maintained just for their honey and for the bee's wax that they produced for their hives, and which was used for making candles and various other products. Later L. L. Langstroth an American scientist brought more scientific methods into bee keeping and brought into practice the beehive frame that was removable. Later it was found that bees could be influenced into building their own frames that were straight by giving them some wax as a foundation. The bees would then make use of this foundation and build their own honey comb with holes that were octagonal in shape to keep their larvae in until they had developed enough and hatched. The methods for beekeeping kept getting more and more developed and a helpful and practical invention was the smoker, which assisted the beekeepers as a safety device.
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