View source for Beekeeping

{{short description|Human care of honey bees}}
[[File:Beekeeper 2017 Honeybee Conservancy, College of DuPage.jpg|thumb|Beekeeper at the [[College of DuPage]], Illinois]]
'''Beekeeping''' (or '''apiculture''', from {{langx|la|[[wikt:apis#Latin|apis]] + culture}}) is the maintenance of [[bee]] colonies, commonly in artificial [[beehive]]s. [[Honey bee]]s in the genus ''[[Apis (bee)|Apis]]'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as ''[[Melipona]]'' stingless bees are also kept. [[Beekeeper]]s (or apiarists) keep bees to collect [[honey]] and other products of the hive: [[beeswax]], [[propolis]], [[bee pollen]], and [[royal jelly]]. Other sources of beekeeping income include [[pollination]] of crops, raising [[Queen bee|queens]], and production of package bees for sale. Bee hives are kept in an [[apiary]] or "bee yard".

The earliest evidence of humans collecting honey are from Spanish caves paintings dated 6,000 BCE,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haralampos V. Harissis: Ed. by, F. Hatjina, G. Mavrofridis, R. Jones. |title=Beekeeping in the Mediterranean from antiquity to the present - Beekeeping in prehistoric Greece |date=2017 |page=18 |url=https://www.academia.edu/31920015/Beekeeping_in_prehistoric_Greece |access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref> however it is not until 3,100 BCE that there is evidence from Egypt of beekeeping being practiced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mark Patterson |title=Tears of Re: Beekeeping in Ancient Egypt |date=2016 |url=https://www.apicultural.co.uk/tears-of-re-beekeeping-in-ancient-egypt#:~:text=The%20first%20actual%20evidence%20of,and%20how%20they%20were%20kept. |access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref>

In the modern era, beekeeping is often used for crop pollination and the collection of its by products, such as [[Beeswax|wax]] and [[propolis]]. The largest beekeeping operations are agricultural businesses but many small beekeeping operations are run as a [[hobby]]. As beekeeping technology has advanced, beekeeping has become more accessible, and [[urban beekeeping]] was described as a growing trend as of 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-04 |title=Why urban beekeeping is a rising trend in major cities |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/urban-beekeeping-rising-trend-major-cities |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref> Some studies have found city-kept bees are healthier than those in rural settings because there are fewer pesticides and greater biodiversity in cities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tanguy|first=Marion|date=23 June 2010|title=Can cities save our bees? – Marion Tanguy|newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/23/can-cities-save-bees|publisher=|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>

== History ==
{{further|Western honey bee#Domestication}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Cueva arana.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|Honey seeker depicted on 8,000-year-old [[cave painting]] near [[Valencia, Spain]]<ref>{{cite web | last =Traynor | first =Kirsten | title =Ancient Cave Painting Man of Bicorp | publisher =MD Bee | url =http://www.mdbee.com/articles/cavepainting.html | access-date =2008-03-12 | archive-date =2019-10-20 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20191020212649/http://www.mdbee.com/articles/cavepainting.html | url-status =dead }}</ref>]]
At least 10,000 years ago, humans began to attempt to maintain colonies of wild bees in artificial [[bee hive|hives]] made from hollow logs, wooden boxes, pottery vessels, and woven straw baskets known as [[skep]]s. Depictions of humans collecting honey from wild bees date to 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dams|first1=M.|last2=Dams|first2=L.|title=Spanish Rock Art Depicting Honey Gathering During the Mesolithic|journal=Nature|date=21 July 1977|volume=268|issue=5617|pages=228–230|doi=10.1038/268228a0|bibcode=1977Natur.268..228D|s2cid=4177275}}</ref> Beekeeping in pottery vessels began about 9,000 years ago in North Africa.<ref name=9kya>{{cite journal|last=Roffet-Salque|first=Mélanie|display-authors=et al|title=Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers|journal=Nature|date=14 June 2016|volume=534|issue=7607|pages=226–227|doi=10.1038/nature18451|pmid=26560301|doi-access=free|hdl=10379/13692|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Traces of beeswax have been found in potsherds throughout the Middle East beginning about 7,000 BCE.<ref name=9kya/> In the [[Borjomi]] region of [[Georgia_(country)|Georgia]], archaeologists discovered the world's oldest known honey, dating back approximately 5,500 years, highlighting Georgia's ancient beekeeping traditions and the ritual use of honey in burial practices.<ref>{{cite web |title=The world's oldest honey was found in Georgia |url=https://georgiavoyage.ge/en/event/the-worlds-oldest-honey-was-found-in-georgia/ |website=GeorgiaVoyage |access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lomsadze |first1=Giorgi |title=Report: Georgia Unearths the World’s Oldest Honey |url=https://eurasianet.org/report-georgia-unearths-the-worlds-oldest-honey |website=Eurasianet |access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref> [[Western honey bee#Domestication|Domestication of bees]] is shown in Egyptian art from around 4,500 years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crane |first1=Eva |title=The world history of beekeeping and honey hunting |date=1999 |publisher=Duckworth |location=London |isbn=9780715628270 }}</ref> Simple hives and smoke were used, and honey was stored in jars, some of which were found in the tombs of pharaohs such as [[Tutankhamun]]. In the 18th century, European understanding of the colonies and biology of bees allowed the construction of the movable comb hive so honey could be harvested without destroying the entire colony.

Honeybees were kept in Egypt from antiquity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/beekeeping.htm |title=Ancient Egypt: Bee-keeping |website=Reshafim.org.il |date=2003-04-06 |access-date=2016-03-12 |archive-date=2016-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309203227/http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/beekeeping.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> On the walls of the [[Egyptian sun temple|sun temple]] of [[Nyuserre Ini]] from the [[Fifth Dynasty]] before 2,422 BCE, workers are depicted blowing smoke into hives as they remove [[honeycomb]]s.<ref name="Bodenheimer1960">{{cite book | title=Animal and Man in Bible Lands | first=F. S. | last=Bodenheimer | publisher=Brill Archive | year=1960 | page=79}}</ref> Inscriptions detailing the production of honey are found on the tomb of [[Pabasa]] from the [[Twenty-sixth Dynasty]] {{circa|650 BCE}}, in which cylindrical hives are depicted along with people pouring honey into jars.<ref>[http://www.agropolis.fr/pdf/rencontres-apiculture-2008/pays/Egypte.pdf]{{dead link|date=March 2016}}</ref>

An inscription records the introduction of honey bees into the land of [[Suhum]] in [[Mesopotamia]], where they were previously unknown:{{blockquote | I am Shamash-resh-ușur, the governor of Suhu and the land of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]]. Bees that collect honey, which none of my ancestors had ever seen or brought into the land of Suhu, I brought down from the mountain of the men of Habha, and made them settle in the orchards of the town 'Gabbari-built-it'. They collect honey and wax, and I know how to melt the honey and wax – and the gardeners know too.

Whoever comes in the future, may he ask the old men of the town, (who will say) thus: "They are the buildings of Shamash-resh-ușur, the governor of Suhu, who introduced honey bees into the land of Suhu". | translated text from Stele|(Dalley, 2002)<ref name="Dalley2002">{{cite book | title=Mari and Karana: Two Old Babylonian Cities | last=Dalley | first=S. | edition=2 | publisher=Gorgias Press LLC | year=2002 | isbn=978-1-931956-02-4 | page=203}}</ref>}}

The oldest archaeological finds directly relating to beekeeping have been discovered at [[Rehov]], a [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age]] archaeological site in the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]], Israel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/oldest-known-archaeological-example-of-beekeeping-discovered-in-israel_10091110.html |title=Oldest known archaeological example of beekeeping discovered in Israel |website=Thaindian.com |date=2008-09-01 |access-date=2016-03-12 |archive-date=2015-11-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117161429/http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/oldest-known-archaeological-example-of-beekeeping-discovered-in-israel_10091110.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Thirty intact hives made of straw and unbaked clay were discovered in the ruins of the city, dating from about 900 BCE, by archaeologist [[Amihai Mazar]]. The hives were found in orderly rows, three high, in a manner that according to Mazar could have accommodated around 100 hives, held more than one million bees and had a potential annual yield of {{Convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=out|sp=us}} of honey and {{Convert|70|kg|lb|abbr=out|sp=us}} of beeswax, and are evidence an advanced honey industry in [[Tel Rehov]], Israel 3,000 years ago.<ref>[[Amihai Mazar|Mazar, Amihai]] and Panitz-Cohen, Nava, (December 2007) [https://web.archive.org/web/20100702230514/http://www.rehov.org/Rehov/publications/Mazar_NEA70_4.pdf ''It Is the Land of Honey: Beekeeping at Tel Rehov''] Near Eastern Archaeology, Volume 70, Number 4, {{ISSN|1094-2076}}</ref><ref>Friedman, Matti (September 4, 2007), [https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-09-04-israel-ancient-beekeeping_N.htm "Israeli archaeologists find 3,000-year-old beehives"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119131314/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-09-04-israel-ancient-beekeeping_N.htm |date=2022-01-19 }} in ''[[USA Today]]'', Retrieved 2010-01-04</ref><ref name="Honey Hunting' 1999">[[Eva Crane|Crane, Eva]] ''The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting'', Routledge 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-415-92467-2}}, 720 pp.</ref>

[[File:Die Bienenzüchter (Bruegel).jpg|thumb|upright=1.32|''The Beekeepers'', 1568, by [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]]]]

In [[ancient Greece]], in [[Crete]] and [[Mycenae]], there existed a system of high-status apiculture that is evidenced by the finds of hives, smoking pots, honey extractors and other beekeeping paraphernalia in [[Knossos]]. Beekeeping was considered a highly valued industry controlled by beekeeping overseers—owners of gold rings depicting apiculture scenes rather than religious ones as they have been reinterpreted recently, contra [[Sir Arthur Evans]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Haralampos V. Harissis |author2=Anastasios V. Harissis |title=Apiculture in the Prehistoric Aegean. Minoan and Mycenaean Symbols Revisited |publisher=British Archaeological Reports |location=[[Oxford]], England |date=2009 |isbn=9781407304540 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1259037 |access-date=2016-03-12 |archive-date=2022-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119131256/https://www.academia.edu/1259037 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Aspects of the lives of bees and beekeeping are discussed at length by [[Aristotle]]. Beekeeping was also documented by the [[ancient Rome|Roman]] writers [[Virgil]], [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]], and [[Columella]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Islam|first1=M. R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzJcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT142|title=The Greening of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Practice, Analysis, and Methodology|last2=Islam|first2=Jaan S.|last3=Zatzman|first3=Gary M.|last4=Rahman|first4=M. Safiur|last5=Mughal|first5=M. A. H.|date=2015-12-03|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-18421-8|language=en}}</ref>

Beekeeping has been practiced in [[ancient China]] since antiquity. In a book written by [[Fan Li]] (or Tao Zhu Gong) during the [[Spring and Autumn period]] are sections describing beekeeping, stressing the importance of the quality of the wooden box used and its effects on the quality of the honey.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Chantawannakul|first1=Panuwan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dYteDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131|title=Asian Beekeeping in the 21st Century|last2=Williams|first2=Geoffrey|last3=Neumann|first3=Peter|year=2018|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-981-10-8222-1|language=en}}</ref> The Chinese word for honey ''mi'' ({{lang-zh|c={{lang|zh-Hant|{{linktext|蜜}}}}|p=Mì}}), reconstructed [[Old Chinese]] pronunciation {{IPA|*mjit}}) was borrowed from [[proto-Tocharian language|proto-Tocharian]] *''ḿət(ə)'' (where *''ḿ'' is [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]]; cf. Tocharian B ''mit''), cognate with English ''{{linktext|mead}}''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Meier|first1=Kristin|last2=Peyrot|first2=Michaël|date=2017|title=The Word for "Honey" in Chinese, Tocharian and Sino-Vietnamese|journal=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft|volume=167|issue=1|pages=7–22|doi=10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.167.1.0007|jstor=10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.167.1.0007|issn=0341-0137}}</ref>

The ancient [[Maya civilization|Maya]] domesticated a species of [[Stingless bee#Mayan stingless bees of Central America|stingless bee]], which they used for several purposes, including making [[balché]], a [[mead]]-like alcoholic drink.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kent|first=Robert B.|date=1984|title=Mesoamerican Stingless Beekeeping|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08873638409478571|journal=Journal of Cultural Geography|language=en|volume=4|issue=2|pages=14–28|doi=10.1080/08873638409478571|issn=0887-3631|access-date=2021-03-29|archive-date=2022-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119131258/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08873638409478571|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> By 300 BCE they had achieved the highest levels of stingless beekeeping practices in the world.<ref>Crane, E. (1998). [https://www.evacranetrust.org/uploads/document/7e2217c97156c8e490fe88721dd6f755a0029cc3.pdf Amerindian honey hunting and hive beekeeping]. ''Acta Americana'', ''6''(1), 5–18</ref> The use of stingless bees is referred to as [[meliponiculture]], which is named after bees of the tribe [[Meliponini]] such as ''[[Melipona quadrifasciata]]'' in Brazil. This variation of beekeeping still occurs today.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Meliponiculture in Mexico: problems and perspective for development|journal=Bee World|date=2001-01-01|issn=0005-772X|pages=160–167|volume=82|issue=4|doi=10.1080/0005772X.2001.11099523|first1=José Javier G.|last1=Quezada-Euán|first2=William de Jesús|last2=May-Itzá|first3=Jorge A.|last3=González-Acereto|s2cid=85263563}}</ref> For instance, in [[Beekeeping in Australia|Australia]], the stingless bee ''[[Tetragonula carbonaria]]'' is kept for the production of honey.<ref name=Halcroft2013>{{cite journal|author= Halcroft, Megan T. |s2cid=86326633|year=2013|title= The Australian Stingless Bee Industry: A Follow-up Survey, One Decade on. |journal= Journal of Apicultural Research|volume= 52 |issue=2|pages= 1–7 |display-authors=etal |doi=10.3896/ibra.1.52.2.01}}</ref>

=== Scientific study of honey bees ===

European natural philosophers began to scientifically study bee colonies in the 18th century. Eminent among these scientists were [[Swammerdam]], [[René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur]], [[Charles Bonnet]] and [[François Huber]]. Swammerdam and Réaumur were among the first to use a microscope and dissection to understand the internal biology of honey bees. Réaumur was among the first to construct a glass-walled observation hive to better observe activities inside hives. He observed queens laying eggs in open cells but did not know how queens were fertilized; the mating of a queen and [[Drone (bee)|drone]] had not yet been observed and many theories held queens were "[[parthenogenesis|self-fertile]]" while others believed a vapor or "miasma" emanating from the drones fertilized queens without physical contact. Huber was the first to prove by observation and experiment that drones physically inseminate queens outside the confines of the hive, usually a great distance away.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Reuber|first=Brant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGDxCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA26|title=21st Century Homestead: Beekeeping|year=2015|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-312-93733-8|page=26|language=en}}</ref>

Following Réaumur's design, Huber built improved glass-walled observation hives and sectional hives that could be opened like the leaves of a book. This allowed the inspection of individual wax combs and greatly improved direct observation of hive activity. Although he went blind before he was twenty, Huber employed a secretary named François Burnens to make daily observations, conduct experiment and keep accurate notes for more than twenty years. Huber confirmed a hive consists of one queen, who is the mother of every [[Worker bee|female worker]] and male drone in the colony. He was also the first to confirm mating with drones takes place outside hives and that queens are inseminated in successive matings with male drones, which occur high in the air at a great distance from the hive. Together, Huber and Burnens dissected bees under the microscope, and were among the first to describe the [[ovary|ovaries]] and [[spermatheca]] (sperm store) of queens, as well as the penis of male drones. Huber is regarded as "the father of modern bee-science" and his work ''Nouvelles Observations sur Les Abeilles'' (New Observations on Bees)<ref name="Huber1814">{{cite book|author=François Huber|title=Nouvelles observations sur les abeilles|url=https://archive.org/details/nouvellesobserv00hubegoog|access-date=27 March 2014|year=1814|publisher=Chez J. J. Paschoud, ... et a Geneve}}</ref> revealed all of the basic scientific facts of the biology and ecology of honeybees.<ref name=":5"/>

===Hive designs ===
[[File:27-alimenti, miele, Taccuino Sanitatis, Casanatense 4182..jpg|thumb|Beekeeping, [[Tacuinum sanitatis]] casanatensis (14th century)]]
Before the invention of the movable comb hive, the harvesting of honey frequently resulted in the destruction of the whole colony. The wild hive was broken into using smoke to quieten the bees. The honeycombs were pulled out and either immediately eaten whole or crushed, along with the eggs, larvae, and honey they held. A sieve or basket was used to separate the liquid honey from the demolished brood nest. In medieval times in northern Europe, although skeps and other containers were made to house bees, the honey and wax were still extracted after the bee colony was killed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolf|first=C. W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UI3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT4|title=Apis Mellifica – Or, The Poison Of The Honey-Bee|year=2021|publisher=Read Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-5287-6221-2|language=en}}</ref> This was usually accomplished by using burning sulfur to suffocate the colony without harming the honey within. It was impossible to replace old, dark-brown brood comb in which larval bees are constricted by layers of shed pupal skins.<ref>{{cite book|author-last=van Veen |author-first=J. W. |editor-last1=Gupta |editor-first1=Rakesh K. |editor-last2=Reybroeck |editor-first2=Wim |editor-last3=van Veen |editor-first3=Johan W. |editor-last4=Gupta |editor-first4=Anuradha |date=2014|title=Beekeeping for Poverty Alleviation and Livelihood Security |volume=1 Ch 12 |location=London |publisher=Springer|pages=350–1|isbn=978-94-017-9199-1 }}</ref>

The movable frames of modern hives are considered to have been developed from the traditional basket top bar (movable comb) hives of Greece, which allowed the beekeeper to avoid killing the bees.<ref>Crane, Eva. ''The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting''. pp. 395–396, 414.{{ISBN?}}</ref> The oldest evidence of their use dates to 1669, although it is probable their use is more than 3,000 years old.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/1929792 |title=A 17th Century Testimony On The Use Of Ceramic Top-bar Hives. 2012 &#124; Haralampos (Χαράλαμπος) Harissis (Χαρίσης) and Georgios Mavrofridis |journal=Bee World |year=2012 |volume=89 |issue=3 |pages=56–58 |access-date=2016-03-12 |last1=Harissis (Χαρίσης) |first1=Haralampos (Χαράλαμπος) |last2=Mavrofridis |first2=Georgios |doi=10.1080/0005772X.2012.11417481 |s2cid=85120138 |archive-date=2015-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019113156/http://www.academia.edu/1929792/A_17th_Century_Testimony_On_The_Use_Of_Ceramic_Top-bar_Hives._2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Beekeeper with moveable comb hive.jpg|thumb|A beekeeper inspecting a [[hive frame]] from a [[Langstroth hive]]]]

Intermediate stages in the transition from older methods of beekeeping were recorded in 1768 by Thomas Wildman, who described advances over the destructive, skep-based method so bees no longer had to be killed to harvest their honey.<ref>Thomas Wildman, ''A Treatise on the Management of Bees'' London, 1768. https://books.google.com/books?id=CCZAAAAAcAAJ Chapter V. Of the Methods practised for taking the Wax and Honey, without destroying the Bees. pp 93–109 accessed 17 March 2022.</ref> Wildman fixed an array of parallel wooden bars across the top of a straw hive {{convert|10|inch|cm|abbr=out}} in diameter "so that there are in all seven bars of deal to which the bees fix their combs", foreshadowing future uses of movable-comb hives. He also described using such hives in a multi-story configuration, foreshadowing the modern use of supers: he added successive straw hives below and later removed the ones above when free of brood and filled with honey so the bees could be separately preserved at the harvest the following season. Wildman also described the use of hives with "sliding frames" in which the bees would build their comb.<ref>Thomas Wildman, ''A Treatise on the Management of Bees'' London, 1768. https://books.google.com/books?id=CCZAAAAAcAAJ accessed 17 March 2022. Chapter II Of the Management of Bees in Hives and Boxes. pp 79–86.</ref>

Wildman's book acknowledges the advances in knowledge of bees made by Swammerdam, Maraldi, and de Réaumur—he includes a lengthy translation of Réaumur's account of the natural history of bees. Wildman also describes the initiatives of others in designing hives for the preservation of bees when taking the harvest, citing reports from Brittany in the 1750s due to the Comte de la Bourdonnaye. Another hive design was invented by Rev. John Thorley in 1744; the hive was placed in a [[bell jar]] that was screwed onto a wicker basket. The bees were free to move from the basket to the jar, and honey was produced and stored in the jar. The hive was designed to keep the bees from swarming as much as they would have in other hive designs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kritsky |first1=Gene |title=The Quest for the Perfect Hive: A History of Innovation in Bee Culture |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York }}</ref>

In the 19th century, changes in beekeeping practice were completed through the development of the movable comb hive by the American [[Lorenzo Langstroth|Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth]], who was the first person to make practical use of Huber's earlier discovery of a specific spatial distance between the wax combs, later called ''the bee space'', which bees do not block with wax but keep as a free passage. Having determined this bee space, which is commonly given as between {{cvt|6|and|9|mm|in|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite book |last=Nelson |first=Eric V. |date=August 1967 |title=Agriculture Handbook No. 335 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |pages=2, 27 |url=https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT87208707/PDF#page=8 |access-date=2022-03-17 |archive-date=2022-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405125154/https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT87208707/PDF#page=8 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Dave Cushman http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/bsp.html</ref> though up to {{Cvt|15|mm|in}} has been found in populations in Ethiopia.<ref>Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare. Determination of Bee Space and Cell Dimensions for Jimma Zone Honeybee Eco-Races (Apis malifera), Southwest Ethiopian. Abera Hailu, Kassa Biratu. Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). Jimma Research Center P.O. Box 192 Jimma Ethiopia. ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online) Vol. 6 no. 9 2016. https://www.academia.edu/26826420/Determination_of_Bee_Space_and_Cell_Dimensions_for_Jimma_Zone_Honeybee_Eco_Races_Apis_malifera_Southwest_Ethiopian accessed 20 March 2022</ref> Langstroth then designed a series of wooden frames within a rectangular hive box, carefully maintaining the correct space between successive frames. He found the bees would build parallel honeycombs in the box without bonding them to each other or to the hive walls. This enables the beekeeper to slide any frame out of the hive for inspection without harming the bees or the comb; and protecting the eggs, larvae and pupae in the cells. It also meant combs containing honey could be gently removed and the honey extracted without destroying the comb. The emptied honeycombs could then be returned intact to the bees for refilling. Langstroth's book ''The Hive and Honey-bee'' (1853), describes his rediscovery of the bee space and the development of his patent movable comb hive. The invention and development of the movable comb hive enabled the growth of large-scale, commercial honey production in both Europe and the U.S.

=== 20th and 21st century hive designs ===

Langstroth's design of movable comb hives was adopted by apiarists and inventors in both North America and Europe, and a wide range of moveable comb hives were developed in England, France, Germany and the United States.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Reuber|first=Brant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGDxCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|title=21st Century Homestead: Beekeeping|year=2015|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-312-93733-8|page=27|language=en}}</ref> Classic designs evolved in each country; [[Charles Dadant|Dadant]] hives and [[Langstroth hive]]s are still dominant in the U.S.; in France the [[Georges de Layens|De-Layens]] trough hive became popular, in the UK a British National hive became standard by the 1930s, although in Scotland the smaller Smith hive is still popular. In some Scandinavian countries and in Russia, the traditional trough hive persisted until late in the 20th century and is still kept in some areas. The Langstroth and Dadant designs, however, remain ubiquitous in the U.S. and in many parts of Europe, though Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France and Italy all have their own national hive designs. Regional variations of hive were developed according to climate, floral productivity and reproductive characteristics of the subspecies of native honey bees in each bio-region.<ref name=":3"/>

[[File:Сотовый мёд.jpg|thumb|Honey-laden honeycomb in a wooden frame]]

The differences in hive dimensions are insignificant in comparison to the common factors in these hives: they are all square or rectangular; they all use movable wooden frames; and they all consist of a floor, brood-box, [[honey super]], crown-board and roof. Hives have traditionally been constructed from cedar, pine or cypress wood but in recent years, hives made from injection-molded, dense [[polystyrene]] have become increasingly common.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Reuber|first=Brant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGDxCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|title=21st Century Homestead: Beekeeping|year=2015|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-312-93733-8|page=28|language=en}}</ref> Hives also use [[queen excluder]]s between the brood-box and honey supers to keep the queen from laying eggs in cells next to those containing honey intended for consumption. With the 20th-century advent of mite pests, hive floors are often replaced, either temporarily or permanently, with a wire mesh and a removable tray.<ref name=":4"/>

[[File:Western honey bee on a honeycomb.jpg|thumb|Western honey bee on a honeycomb]]

In 2015, the [[Flow Hive]] system was invented in Australia by Cedar Anderson and his father Stuart Anderson,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-12/australian-story-flow-hive-family-talks-about-life-now/7828436 |title=Flow Hive: Cedar and Stuart Anderson talk about life one year after crowdfunding success |last=Hassall |first=Craig |website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |location=[[ABC Online]] |date=12 September 2017 |access-date=2019-03-13 |archive-date=2019-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404163334/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-12/australian-story-flow-hive-family-talks-about-life-now/7828436 |url-status=live }}</ref> whose design allows honey to be extracted without cumbersome centrifuge equipment.

=== Pioneers of practical and commercial beekeeping ===
In the 19th century, improvements were made in the design and production of beehives, systems of management and husbandry, stock improvement by [[selective breeding]], [[honey extraction]] and marketing. Notable innovators of modern beekeeping include:
[[File:Ruche Prokopowitsh.jpg|thumb|Prokopovych's beehive system]]
[[Petro Prokopovych]] used frames with channels in the side of the woodwork; these were packed side-by-side in stacked boxes. Bees traveled between frames and boxes via these channels,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces75363.html|title=2 Hryvni, Ukraine|website=en.numista.com}}</ref> which were similar to the cutouts in the sides of modern wooden sections.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dave Cushman|title=History of British Standards in Beekeeping|url=http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/hist.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405233236/http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/hist.html|archive-date=2013-04-05|access-date=2013-04-11|work=dave-cushman.net}}</ref>

[[Jan Dzierżon]]' beehive design has influenced modern beehives.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Cincinnati Historical Society|title=Ohio Valley history. The journal of the Cincinnati Historical Society|author2=Cincinnati Museum Center|author3=Filson Historical Society|publisher=Cincinnati Museum Center|year=2005|volume=5–6|page=96}}</ref>

[[François Huber]] made significant discoveries about the bee life cycle and communication between bees. Despite being blind, Huber discovered a large amount of information about the queen bee's mating habits and her contact with the rest of the hive. His work was published as ''New Observations on the Natural History of Bees''.<ref name="LeTemps">{{cite news|last=Koutchoumoff|first=Lisbeth|date=November 16, 2018|title=L'étonnante Histoire du Genevois François Huber, apiculteur aveugle et visionnaire|newspaper=Le Temps|url=https://www.letemps.ch/culture/letonnante-histoire-genevois-francois-huber-apiculteur-aveugle-visionnaire}}</ref>

[[L. L. Langstroth]] has influenced modern beekeeping practice more than anyone else. His book ''The Hive and Honey-bee'' was published in 1853.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Root |first=Amos Ives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYNIAAAAYAAJ&dq=Rev.+Lorenzo+Lorraine+Langstroth+-wikipedia+%22father%22&pg=PA341 |title=The ABC of Bee Culture: A Cyclopaedia of Everything Pertaining to the Care of the Honey-bee ... |date=1891 |publisher= |language=en}}</ref>

[[Moses Quinby]], author of ''Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained'', invented the [[bee smoker]] in 1873.<ref>''Bee Culture''. Moses Quinby – http://www.beeculture.com/moses-quinby/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526041431/http://www.beeculture.com/moses-quinby/ |date=2018-05-26 }}</ref><ref>Thermal Beekeeping: Look Inside a Burning Bee Smoker – https://americanbeejournal.com/thermal-beekeeping-look-inside-a-burning-bee-smoker/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122122932/https://americanbeejournal.com/thermal-beekeeping-look-inside-a-burning-bee-smoker/ |date=2021-01-22 }}</ref>

[[Amos Root]], author of the ''A B C of Bee Culture'', which has been continuously revised and remains in print, pioneered the manufacture of hives and the distribution of bee packages in the United States.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023|reason=Dead link replaced with an archived page making no mention of Root nor package bees.}}

[[A. J. Cook (beekeeper)|A. J. Cook]] author of ''The Bee-Keepers' Guide; or Manual of the Apiary'', 1876.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Crawford, David L.|year=1916|title=Albert John Cook, DSC|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7wUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA169|journal=Journal of Entomology and Zoology|publisher=Pomona College Dept. of Zoology|volume=8|pages=169–170|number=4}}</ref>

[[Dr. C.C. Miller]] was one of the first entrepreneurs to make a living from apiculture. By 1878, he made beekeeping his sole business activity. His book, ''Fifty Years Among the Bees'', remains a classic and his influence on bee management persists into the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bees as business: UMass Amherst, Du Bois Library, SCUA<!-- Bot generated title -->|url=http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/exhibits/bees/miller.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014151506/http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/exhibits/bees/miller.htm|archive-date=2012-10-14|access-date=2007-08-30}}</ref>

[[File:Honigschleuder.jpg|thumb|Honey Extractor]]

[[Franz Hruschka]] was an Austrian/Italian military officer who in 1865 invented a simple [[Honey extractor|machine for extracting honey]] from the comb by means of [[centrifugal force]]. His original idea was to support combs in a metal framework and then spin them within a container to collect honey that was thrown out by centrifugal force. This meant honeycombs could be returned to a hive empty and undamaged, saving the bees a vast amount of work, time and materials. This invention significantly improved the efficiency of honey harvesting and catalyzed the modern honey industry.<ref>{{cite web|title=Birth of American Bee Culture: A Look at Advertisements in A.J. Cook's The Bee Keepers' Guide|url=https://standrewsrarebooks.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/birth-of-american-bee-culture-a-look-at-advertisements-in-a-j-cooks-the-bee-keepers-guide/|publisher=St Andrews Rare Books|access-date=29 May 2018|date=26 May 2016|quote=... a honey extractor. This machine, invented by Major Francesco De Hruschka in 1865, used centrifugal force to dislodge honey from the combs and collected it into a vat. The extractor, combined with Langstroth's movable comb hive, greatly improved the efficiency of honey harvesting.|archive-date=30 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530035837/https://standrewsrarebooks.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/birth-of-american-bee-culture-a-look-at-advertisements-in-a-j-cooks-the-bee-keepers-guide/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Walter T. Kelley]] was an American pioneer of modern beekeeping in the early-and mid-20th century. He greatly improved upon beekeeping equipment and clothing, and went on to manufacture these items and other equipment. His company sold products worldwide and his book ''How to Keep Bees & Sell Honey'', encouraged a boom in beekeeping following [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Moffett|first=Joseph O.|title=Beekeepers and Associates|year=1979|page=69}}</ref>

[[Cary W. Hartman]] (1859–1947), lecturer, well known beekeeping enthusiast and honey promoter was elected President of the California State Beekeepers' Association in 1921.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bo0eAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Bees+and+Honey%22+Alameda+County&pg=PA233|title=Gleanings in Bee Culture|date=June 28, 1921|publisher=A. I. Root Company|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LvBOAAAAIAAJ&dq=Cary+W.+Hartman&pg=RA1-PA2 "Honey Producers' Co-Operator"] 1921, March–April, Vol.2 No.3</ref>

In the UK, practical beekeeping was led in the early 20th century by a few men, pre-eminently [[Brother Adam]] and his [[Buckfast bee]], and [[R.O.B. Manley]], author of books including ''Honey Production in the British Isles'' and inventor of the Manley frame, which is still universally popular in the UK. Other notable British pioneers include [[William Herrod-Hempsall]] and Gale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://perso.unamur.be/~jvandyck/homage/ven.html|title=Brother Adam – English Page|website=perso.unamur.be}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=5 April 2009|title=Movable frame hives|url=http://www.startbeekeeping.net/general/movable-frame-hives|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116101725/http://www.startbeekeeping.net/general/movable-frame-hives|archive-date=16 November 2016|publisher=startbeekeeping.net|access-date=1 May 2009}}</ref>

[[Ahmed Zaky Abushady]] (1892–1955) was an Egyptian poet, medical doctor, bacteriologist, and bee scientist, who was active in England and Egypt in the early twentieth century. In 1919, Abushady patented a removable, standardized aluminum honeycomb. In the same year, he founded [[The Apis Club]] in [[Benson, Oxfordshire]], which later became the [[International Bee Research Association]] (IBRA). In Egypt in the 1930s, Abushady established The Bee Kingdom League and its organ ''The Bee Kingdom''.<ref>Crane, Eva. ''The world history of beekeeping and honey hunting'', New York : Routledge, 1999. {{oclc|41049690}} {{page needed|date=January 2022}}</ref>

== Hives and other equipment==
=== Horizontal hives ===
<!--This sub-section is an excerpt from [[Horizontal top-bar hive]]. See that article's History for full attribution.-->
[[File:Top bar hive.JPG|thumb|Modern top bar hive]]

A [[Horizontal top-bar hive]] is a single-story, frameless beehive in which the comb hangs from removable bars that form a continuous roof over the comb, whereas the frames in most current hives allow space for bees to move between boxes. Hives that have frames or that use honey chambers in summer and use management principles similar to those of regular top-bar hives are sometimes also referred to as top-bar hives. Top-bar hives are rectangular and are typically more than twice as wide as multi-story framed hives commonly found in English-speaking countries. Top-bar hives usually include one box and allow for beekeeping methods that interfere very little with the colony. While conventional advice often recommends inspecting each colony each week during the warmer months,<ref>Advice for New Beekeepers UK National Bee Unit. 02/03/2020 http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=209 accessed 6.6.2020</ref> some beekeepers fully inspect top-bar hives only once a year,<ref>Fedor Lazutin. Keeping bees with a smile. Principles and practice of natural beekeeping. p 321. New Society Publishers. April 2020.</ref> and only one comb needs to be lifted at a time.<ref>Michael Bush. The Practical Beekeeper. p.551. xstarpublishing.com. 2004. {{ISBN|978-161476-064-1}}</ref>

=== Vertical stackable hives ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}

There are three types of vertical stackable hives: hanging or top-access frame, sliding or side-access frame, and top bar.

Hanging-frame hive designs include Langstroth, the British National, Dadant, Layens, and Rose, which differ in size and number of frames. The Langstroth was the first successful top-opened hive with movable frames. Many other hive designs are based on the principle of bee space that was first described by Langstroth, and is a descendant of Jan Dzierzon's Polish hive designs. Langstroth hives are the most-common size in the United States and much of the world; the British National is the most common size in the United Kingdom; Dadant and Modified Dadant hives are widely used in France and Italy, and Layens by some beekeepers, where their large size is an advantage. Square Dadant hives–often called 12-frame Dadant or Brother Adam hives–are used in large parts of Germany and other parts of Europe by commercial beekeepers.

Any hanging-frame hive design can be built as a sliding frame design. The AZ Hive, the original sliding frame design, integrates hives using Langstroth-sized frames into a honey house to streamline the workflow of honey harvest by localization of labor, similar to [[cellular manufacturing]]. The honey house can be a portable trailer, allowing the beekeeper to move hives to a site and provide pollination services.

Top-bar stackable hives use top bars instead of full frames. The most common type is the Warre hive, although any hive with hanging frames can be converted into a top-bar stackable hive by using only the top bar rather than the whole frame. This may work less well with larger frames, where crosscomb and attachment can occur more readily.

=== Protective clothing ===
[[File:Beekeeper keeping bees.jpg|upright=0.7|Beekeepers often wear protective clothing to protect themselves from stings.|thumb]]

Most beekeepers wear some protective clothing. Novice beekeepers usually wear gloves and a hooded suit or hat and veil. Experienced beekeepers sometimes choose not to use gloves because they inhibit delicate manipulations. The face and neck are the most important areas to protect, so most beekeepers wear at least a veil.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Hive and the honey bee: a new book on beekeeping which continues the tradition of "Langstroth on the hive and the honeybee"|date=1992|publisher=Dadant|editor=Graham, Joe M. |isbn=0-915698-09-9|edition=Rev.|location=Hamilton, IL |oclc=27344331}}</ref> Defensive bees are attracted to the breath; a sting on the face can lead to much more pain and swelling than a sting elsewhere, while a sting on a bare hand can usually be quickly removed by fingernail scrape to reduce the amount of venom injected.

Traditionally, beekeeping clothing is pale-colored because of the natural color of cotton and the cost of coloring is an expense not warranted for workwear, though some consider this to provide better differentiation from the colony's natural predators such as bears and skunks, which tend to be dark-colored. It is now known bees see in [[ultraviolet]] wavelengths and are also attracted to scent. The type of fabric conditioner used has more impact than the color of the fabric.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.ncsu.edu/2011/07/wms-what-bees-see/|title=What Do Bees See? And How Do We Know?|website=NC State News|date=27 July 2011|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-17|archive-date=2020-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401161912/https://news.ncsu.edu/2011/07/wms-what-bees-see/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/well-ill-bee-bees-see-uv/|title=Well, I'll BEE...Bees see UV|last=Murphy|first=Cheryl|website=Scientific American Blog Network|language=en|access-date=2020-04-17|archive-date=2020-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113113414/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/well-ill-bee-bees-see-uv/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stings that are retained in clothing fabric continue to pump out an [[Alarm pheromones|alarm pheromone]] that attracts aggressive action and further stinging attacks. Attraction can be minimized with regular washing.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

=== Smoker ===
{{Main|Bee smoker}}
[[File:Bee smoker.jpg|thumb|Bee smoker with heat shield and hook]]

Most beekeepers use a [[Bee smoker|smoker]], a device that generates smoke from the incomplete combustion of fuels. Although the exact mechanism is disputed, it is said smoke calms bees. Some claim it initiates a feeding response in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to fire.<ref>{{cite thesis|last1=Newton|first1=David Comstock|title=Behavioral Response of Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) to Colony Disturbance by Smoke, Acetic Acid, Isopentyl Acetate, Light, Temperature and Vibration|date=March 1967|location=Champaign, IL|publisher=[[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign|University of Illinois]]|id=Document No. 302256408{{ProQuest|302256408}}|page=3|degree=Ph.D.}}</ref> It is also thought smoke masks alarm pheromones released by guard bees or bees that are squashed in an inspection. The ensuing confusion creates an opportunity for the beekeeper to open the hive and work without triggering a defensive reaction.

Many types of fuel can be used in a smoker as long as it is natural and not contaminated with harmful substances. Common fuels include [[hessian (cloth)|hessian]], [[twine]], pine needles, corrugated cardboard, and rotten or punky wood. Indian beekeepers, especially in Kerala, often use coconut fibers, which are readily available, safe, and cheap. Some beekeeping supply sources also sell commercial fuels like pulped paper, compressed cotton and aerosol cans of smoke. Other beekeepers use [[sumac]] as fuel because it ejects much smoke and lacks an odor.

Some beekeepers use "liquid smoke" as a safer, more convenient alternative. It is a water-based solution that is sprayed onto the bees from a plastic spray bottle. A spray of clean water can also be used to encourage bees to move on.<ref>The Barefoot Beekeeper. Philip Chandler 2015 {{ISBN|9781326192259}}</ref> Torpor may also be induced by the introduction of chilled air into the hive, while chilled carbon dioxide may have harmful, long-term effects.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Robinson|first1=Gene E.|last2=Visscher|first2=P. Kirk|title=Effect of Low Temperature Narcosis on Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Foraging Behavior|journal=The Florida Entomologist|date=December 1984|volume=67|issue=4|pages=568|doi=10.2307/3494466|jstor=3494466}}</ref>

Few anecdotal stories of using the smoke from burning fungi in England or Europe for centuries have been published.  Several more recent studies describe anaesthesia of honeybees use of smoke from burning fungi.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cook| first1 = V. A. | year = 1970 | title = Puff ball control of bees  | journal = N. Z. Jl. Agric. | volume = 120 | pages = 72–75}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Keewaydinoquay | year = 1978 | title = Puhpohwee for the people – a narrative account of some uses of fungi among Ahnishinaubeg: Cambridge, MA: Botanical Museum of Harvard University}}</ref> The fungi reported to have been used to smoke bees are the puffballs Lycoperdon gigantium, L. wahlbergii and the conks, Fomes fomentarius and F. igiarius.  When fungi are burned, the characteristic smell is due to the pyrolysis of the keratin cell wall of fungi. Besides being a major fungi constituent, keratin is found in animal tissues, such as hair or feathers.  Anaesthesia experiments done using smoke from pyrolysis of L. wahlbergii, human hair and chicken feathers showed no difference in long-term mortality of anesthetized honeybees and non-treated bees in the same hive.    Hydrogen sulphide was identified as the major combustion product that is responsible for putting the bees to sleep. Note – hydrogen sulphide is toxic to humans at high concentrations.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F. | year = 1983 | title = Anaesthesia of Honeybees by Smoke from the Pyrolysis of Puffballs and Keratin | journal = J. Apicultural Research | volume = 22 | issue = 2 | pages = 107–110 | doi=10.1080/00218839.1983.11100569| bibcode = 1983JApiR..22..107W }}</ref>

=== Hive tool ===
{{Main|Hive tool}}
[[File:Beekeeping hive tool.jpg|thumb|American hive tool]]
Most beekeepers use a hive tool when working on their hives. The two main types are the American hive tool; and the Australian hive tool often called a 'frame lifter'. They are used to scrape off burr-comb from around the hive, especially on top of the frames. They are also used to separate the frames before lifting out of the hive.

==Safety and husbandry==
=== Stings===
{{main|Bee sting}}

Some beekeepers believe pain and irritation from stings decreases if a beekeeper receives more stings, and they consider it important for safety of the beekeeper to be stung a few times a season. Beekeepers have high levels of antibodies, mainly [[Immunoglobulin G]], caused by a reaction to the major antigen of [[bee venom]], [[phospholipase]] A2 (PLA).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=HELD|first1=W.|last2=STUCKI|first2=M.|last3=HEUSSER|first3=C.|last4=BLASER|first4=K.|title=Production of Human Antibodies to Bee Venom Phospholipase A2 in Vitro|journal=Scandinavian Journal of Immunology|date=February 1989|volume=29|issue=2|pages=203–209|doi=10.1111/j.1365-3083.1989.tb01117.x|pmid=2922572|s2cid=40844101}}</ref> Antibodies correlate with the frequency of bee stings.

The entry of venom into the body from bee stings may be hindered and reduced by protective clothing that allows the wearer to remove stings and venom sacs with a simple tug on the clothing. Although the stinger is barbed, a worker bee's stinger is less likely to become lodged into clothing than human skin.

Symptoms of being stung include redness, swelling and itching around the site of the sting. In mild cases, pain and swelling subside in two hours. In moderate cases, the red welt at the sting site will become slightly larger for one or two days before beginning to heal. A severe reaction, which is rare among beekeepers, results in [[anaphylactic shock]].<ref name=":0" />

If a beekeeper is stung by a bee, the sting should be removed without squeezing the attached venom glands. A quick scrape with a fingernail is effective and intuitive, and ensures the venom injected does not spread so the side effects of the sting will go away sooner. Washing the affected area with soap and water can also stop the spread of venom. Ice or a cold compress can be applied to the sting area.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|author1=Mayo Clinic Staff|title=Bee Stings-Treatments and Drugs|url=http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bee-stings/basics/treatment/con-20034120|website=Mayo Clinic|access-date=3 April 2016|archive-date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412194230/http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bee-stings/basics/treatment/con-20034120|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Internal temperature of a hive===
[[File:Hive tunnel entrance.jpg|thumb|Tunnel entrance with baffle]]
[[File:Hive with styrofoam insulation.jpg|thumb|Hive with a second skin of polystyrene]]
Bees maintain the internal temperature of their hive at about {{convert|35|C|F|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Southwick |first1=Edward E. |last2=Heldmaier |first2=Gerhard |date=1987 |title=Temperature Control in Honey Bee Colonies |journal=BioScience |volume=37 |number=6 |publisher=American Institute of Biological Sciences |pages=395–399 |doi=10.2307/1310562 |jstor=1310562}}</ref> Their ability to do this is known as social [[homeostasis]] and was first described by Gates in 1914.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gates |first1=S.B.N. |date=1914 |title=The temperature of the bee colony |magazine=Bull |publisher=USDA |number=96 |pages=1–19}}</ref> During hot weather, bees cool the hive by circulating cool air from the entrance through the hive and out again;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Southwick |first1=Edward E. |last2=Moritz |first2=R.F.A. |date=1987 |title=Social control of air ventilation in colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera. |journal=Journal of Insect Physiology |volume=33 |issue=9 |pages=623–626 |doi=10.1016/0022-1910(87)90130-2 |bibcode=1987JInsP..33..623S }}</ref> and if necessary by placing water, which they fetch, throughout the hive to create evaporative cooling.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jarimi|first1=Hasila |last2=Tapia-Brito |first2=Emmanuel|last3=Riffat |first3=Saffa |date=2020 |title=A Review on Thermoregulation Techniques in Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) Beehive Microclimate and Its Similarities to the Heating and Cooling Management in Buildings |journal=Future Cities and Environment |volume=6 |number=7 |pages=4–5|doi=10.5334/fce.81|s2cid=225427905|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020FutCE...6....7J }}</ref> In cold weather, packing and insulation of the bee hive is believed to be beneficial.<ref>{{cite book |last=Root |first=A.I. |date=1978 |title=ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture |location=Medina, Ohio |publisher=A.I. Root Company |pages=682, 683}}</ref> The extra insulation is believed to reduce the amount of honey the bees consume and makes it easier for them to maintain the hive's temperature. The desire for insulation encouraged the use of double-walled hives with an [[Beehive#WBC hives|outer wall of timber]] or [[Polystyrene#Expanded polystyrene (EPS)|polystyrene]]; and hives constructed from a ceramic.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Todorka |first1=L. |last2=Lyuben |first2=L. |last3=Ivanka |first3=M. |last4=Gergana |first4=M. |last5=Krasimira |first5=T. |date=2020 |title=Thermal conductivity of the ceramic beehive |journal=Machines Technologies Materials |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=90–92 }}</ref>

===Location of hives===
There has been considerable debate about the best location for hives. Virgil thought they should be located near clear springs, ponds or shallow brooks. Wildman thought they should face to the south or west. All writers agree hives should be sheltered from strong winds. In hot climates, hives are often placed under the shade of trees in summer.<ref>{{cite book |title=The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge|volume=I |date=1847 |publisher=Charles Knight |location=London |page=894}}</ref> Researchers in the U.S. found domestic honey bees placed in national parks compete with native bee species for resources. A further review of the literature concluded large concentrations of beehives on continents where they are not native, such as North and South America, could compete against the native bees; this, however, was not as strongly observed in areas where domestic bees are native such as Europe and Africa, where the different bee species have adapted to have a narrower overlapping of forage preferences.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jennifer Oldham |title=Will Putting Honey Bees on Public Lands Threaten Native Bees? |url=https://e360.yale.edu/features/will-putting-honey-bees-on-public-lands-threaten-native-bees |website=e360.yale.edu |publisher=Yale School of the Environment |access-date=23 September 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020164724/https://e360.yale.edu/features/will-putting-honey-bees-on-public-lands-threaten-native-bees |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Natural beekeeping ===
[[File:Woman-Beekeeper-Cameroon.jpg|left|thumb|A workshop for beekeeping in [[Maga, Cameroon]]. Bees are a form of livestock that can add a lot of value to farmland and generate relatively easy revenue for rural communities.]]
The natural beekeeping movement believes bee hives are weakened by modern beekeeping and agricultural practices, such as crop spraying, hive movement, frequent hive inspections, [[artificial insemination]] of queens, routine medication, and sugar water feeding.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bestmadhoney.com/natural-bee-keeping/ |title=Natural Beekeeping date |access-date=2020-07-30 |archive-date=2020-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127114803/https://bestmadhoney.com/natural-bee-keeping/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Practitioners of "natural beekeeping" tend to use variations of the top-bar hive, which is a simple design that retains the concept of having a movable comb without the use of frames or a foundation. The horizontal top-bar hive, as promoted by many writers, can be seen as a modernization of hollow log hives, with the addition of wooden bars of specific width from which bees hang their combs. The widespread adoption of Natural Beekeeping methods in recent years can be attributed to the 2007 publications of ''Natural Beekeeping'' <ref>Conrad, Ross (2007) Natural Beekeeping: Organic approaches to modern apiculture, Chelsea Green, {{ISBN|978-1-60358-362-6}}</ref> by Ross Conrad, and ''The Barefoot Beekeeper''<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=Philip|title=The Barefoot Beekeeper|year=2007|publisher=Lulu|isbn=978-1-4092-7114-7|page=111|url=http://www.biobees.com|access-date=2022-01-20|archive-date=2022-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117130812/https://www.biobees.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> by Philip Chandler, which challenges many aspects of modern beekeeping and offers the horizontal top-bar hive as a viable alternative to the ubiquitous Langstroth-style movable-frame hive.

A vertical top-bar hive is the Warré hive, based on a design by the French priest Abbé Émile Warré (1867–1951) and popularized by David Heaf in his English translation of Warré's book ''L'Apiculture pour Tous'' as ''Beekeeping For All''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://warre.biobees.com/ |title=Beekeeping with the Warré hive – Home |website=Warre.biobees.com |access-date=2016-03-12 |archive-date=2016-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317123825/http://www.warre.biobees.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Urban and backyard beekeeping ===
{{Main|Urban beekeeping}}
[[File:Honey bee in Toronto.jpg|thumb|Honey bee in [[Toronto]]]]

Related to natural beekeeping, [[urban beekeeping]] is an attempt to revert to a less-industrialized way of obtaining honey by using small-scale colonies that pollinate urban gardens. Some have found city bees are healthier than rural bees because there are fewer pesticides and greater biodiversity in urban gardens.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/23/can-cities-save-bees | work=The Guardian | first=Marion | last=Tanguy | title=Can cities save our bees? | date=2010-06-23 | access-date=2016-12-11 | archive-date=2017-02-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225092615/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/23/can-cities-save-bees | url-status=live }}</ref> Urban bees may fail to find forage, however, and homeowners can use their land to help feed local bee populations by planting [[flowers]] that provide nectar and pollen. An environment of year-round, uninterrupted bloom creates an ideal environment for colony reproduction.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.networx.com/article/bee-friendly-landscaping | work=Networx | first=Chaya | last=Goodman Kurtz | title=Bee-Friendly Landscaping | date=2010-06-03 | access-date=2012-08-12 | archive-date=2012-08-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806020042/http://www.networx.com/article/bee-friendly-landscaping | url-status=live }}</ref>

Using managed honeybee colonies to fill the [[ecological niche]] of pollinators in urban environments is also thought to be crucial to preventing the formation of feral colonies by more destructive species like the [[Africanized honeybee]] (AHB).<ref>[http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/plantinsp/apiary/ahbgroup/actionplan.doc Florida  African Bee Action Plan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701004227/http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/plantinsp/apiary/ahbgroup/actionplan.doc |date=2007-07-01 }}, by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. pp. 10.</ref>

=== Indoor beekeeping ===
Modern beekeepers have experimented with raising bees indoors in a controlled environment or in indoor observation hives. This may be done for reasons of space and monitoring, or in the cooler months, when large commercial beekeepers may move colonies to "wintering" warehouses with fixed temperature, light, and humidity. This helps bees remain healthy but relatively dormant. These relatively dormant "wintered" bees survive on stored honey, and new bees are not born.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bees.techno-science.ca/english/bees/the-beekeeper/winter-techniques.php|title=Wintering Techniques|access-date=2016-10-24|archive-date=2016-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924070308/http://www.bees.techno-science.ca/english/bees/the-beekeeper/winter-techniques.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

Experiments in raising bees indoors for longer durations have looked into more precise and varying environment controls. In 2015, [[MIT]]'s "Synthetic Apiary" project simulated springtime inside a closed environment for several hives throughout the winter. They provided food sources and simulated long days, and saw activity and reproduction levels comparable to the levels seen outdoors in warm weather. They concluded such an indoor apiary could be sustained year-round if needed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.creativeapplications.net/news/synthetic-apiary-biologically-augmented-digital-fabrication/|title=Synthetic Apiary – Biologically augmented digital fabrication|newspaper=CreativeApplications.Net|access-date=2016-10-06|archive-date=2016-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007180724/http://www.creativeapplications.net/news/synthetic-apiary-biologically-augmented-digital-fabrication/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/mits-mediated-matter-group-builds-a-synthetic-apiary-to-help-save-bees_o|title=MIT's Mediated Matter Group Builds a Synthetic Apiary to Help Save Bees|publisher=Architect Magazine|date=2016-10-17|access-date=2016-10-24|archive-date=2016-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025052027/http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/mits-mediated-matter-group-builds-a-synthetic-apiary-to-help-save-bees_o|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Behavior of honey bees==
=== Colony reproduction===
{{Main|Swarming (honey bee)}}

[[File:Essaim d'abeilles en vol (modifiée).jpg|thumb|right|A swarm about to land]]
[[File:Honeycomb 20090206 jhansonxi.jpg|thumb|right|New wax combs between basement joists]]

Honey bee colonies are dependent on their queen, who is the only egg-layer. Although queens have a three-to-four-year adult lifespan, diminished longevity of queens—less than a year—is commonly and increasingly observed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Amiri|first1=Esmaeil|last2=Strand|first2=Micheline|last3=Rueppell|first3=Olav|last4=Tarpy|first4=David|date=2017-05-08|title=Queen Quality and the Impact of Honey Bee Diseases on Queen Health: Potential for Interactions between Two Major Threats to Colony Health|journal=Insects|language=en|volume=8|issue=2|pages=48|doi=10.3390/insects8020048|issn=2075-4450|pmc=5492062|pmid=28481294|doi-access=free}}</ref> The queen can choose whether to fertilize an egg as she lays it; fertilized eggs develop into a female worker bees and unfertilized eggs become male drones. The queen's choice of egg type depends on the size of the open brood cell she encounters on the comb. In a small worker cell, she lays a fertilized egg; she lays unfertilized drone eggs in larger drone cells.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Queen Bees Control Sex of Young After All|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/queen-bees-control-sex-young-after-all|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-21|website=Science|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121122007/https://www.science.org/content/article/queen-bees-control-sex-young-after-all |archive-date=2022-01-21 }}</ref>

When the queen is fertile and laying eggs, she produces a variety of [[pheromone]]s that control the behavior of the bees in the hive; these are commonly called [[queen substance]]. Each pheromone has a different function. As the queen ages, she begins to run out of stored sperm and her pheromones begin to fail.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Connor|first=Larry|title=Queen Bee 101: Biology and Behavior of Queen Bees|journal=Bee Culture|volume=138.7(2010)|pages=48|via=Print}}</ref>

As the queen's pheromones fail, the bees replace her by creating a new queen from one of her worker eggs. They may do this because she has been physically injured, because she has run out of sperm and cannot lay fertilized eggs, and has become a drone-laying queen, or because her pheromones have dwindled to the point at which they cannot control all of the bees in the hive. At this juncture, the bees produce one or more queen cells by modifying existing worker cells that contain a normal female egg. They then either supersede the queen without [[Swarming (honey bee)|swarming]] or divide the hive into two colonies through swarm-cell production, which leads to swarming.<ref>{{Cite web|title=An Introduction to Queen Honey Bee Development|url=https://extension.psu.edu/an-introduction-to-queen-honey-bee-development|access-date=2022-01-21|website=Penn State Extension|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Essaim d'abeilles posé.JPG|thumb|A swarm attached to a branch]]

Supersedure is a valued behavioral trait because hive that supersedes its old queen does not lose any stock; rather it creates a new queen and the old one either naturally dies or is killed when the new queen emerges. In these hives, bees produce only one or two queen cells, most often in the center of the face of a broodcomb.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Rinderer|first=Thomas E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyTgBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA255|title=Bee Genetics and Breeding|date=2013-09-03|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-1-4832-7003-6|language=en}}</ref> Swarm-cell production involves the creation of twelve or more queen cells. These are large, peanut-shaped protrusions requiring space, for which reason they are often located around the edges—commonly at the sides and the bottom—of the broodcomb.<ref name=":1"/>

Once either process has begun, the old queen leaves the hive when the first queen cells hatch, and is accompanied by a large number of bees—predominantly young bees called wax-secretors—which form the basis of the new hive. Scouts are sent from the swarm to find suitable hollow trees or rock crevices; when one is found, the entire swarm moves in. Within hours, the new colony's bees build new wax brood combs using honey stores with which the young bees have filled themselves before leaving the old hive. Only young bees can secrete wax from special abdominal segments, which is why swarms tend to contain more young bees. Often a number of virgin queens accompany the first swarm, known as the "prime swarm", and the old queen is replaced as soon as a daughter queen mates and begins laying. Otherwise, she is quickly superseded in the new hive.<ref name=":1"/>

Different sub-species of ''Apis mellifera'' exhibit differing swarming characteristics. In North America, northern black races are thought to swarm less and supersede more whereas the southern yellow-and-gray varieties are said to swarm more frequently. Swarming behavior is complicated because of the prevalence of cross-breeding and hybridization of the sub-species.<ref name=":1"/> Italian bees are very prolific and inclined to swarm; Northern European black bees have a strong tendency to supersede their old queen without swarming. These differences are the result of differing evolutionary pressures in the regions in which each sub-species evolved.<ref name=":1"/>

=== Factors that trigger swarming ===
According to George S. Demuth, the main factors that increase the swarming tendency of bees are:<ref>{{cite book |last=Root |first=A.I. |date=1978 |title=ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture |location=Medina, Ohio |publisher=A. I. Root Company |pages=610–611}}</ref>
* The genetics of bees; the strength of the swarming instinct
* Congestion of the brood nest 
* Insufficient empty combs for ripening nectar and storing honey 
* Inadequate ventilation 
* Having an old queen 
* Warming weather conditions.

Demuth attributed some of his comments to Snelgrove.<ref>{{cite book |last=Snelgrove |first=L.E. |date=1935 |title=Swarming, its Control and Prevention |location=Bleadon, England |publisher=Snelgrove & Smith }}</ref>

Some beekeepers carefully monitor their colonies in spring for the appearance of queen cells, which are a dramatic signal the colony is determined to swarm.<ref name=":1"/> After leaving the old hive, the swarm looks for shelter. A beekeeper may capture it and introduce it into a new hive. Otherwise, the swarm reverts to a feral state and finds shelter in a hollow tree or other suitable habitat.<ref name=":1"/> A small after-swarm has less chance of survival and may threaten the original hive's survival if the number of remaining bees is unsustainable. When a hive swarms despite the beekeeper's preventative efforts, the beekeeper may give the reduced hive two frames of open brood with eggs. This helps replenish the hive more quickly and gives a second opportunity to raise a queen if there is a mating failure.<ref name=":1"/>

=== Artificial swarming ===
When a colony accidentally loses its queen, it is said to be queenless.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hepburn|first1=H. Randall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zNuwxBP8MTUC&pg=PA448|title=Honeybees of Asia|last2=Radloff|first2=Sarah E.|date=2011-01-04|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-642-16422-4|pages=448|language=en}}</ref> The workers realize the queen is absent after around an hour as her pheromones in the hive fade. Instinctively, the workers select cells containing eggs aged less than three days and dramatically enlarge the cells  to form "emergency queen cells". These appear similar to large, {{convert|1|in|cm|adj=on|abbr=out|spell=in}}-long, peanut-like structures that hang from the center or side of the brood combs. The developing larva in a queen cell is fed differently than an ordinary worker bee; in addition to honey and pollen, she receives a great deal of [[royal jelly]], a special food secreted from the hypopharyngeal gland of young nurse bees.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Frost|first=Elizabeth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3V07DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA58|title=Queen Bee Breeding: AgGuide – A Practical Handbook|date=2016-05-26|publisher=NSW Agriculture|isbn=978-1-74256-922-2|language=ar}}</ref> Royal jelly dramatically alters the growth and development of the larva so after metamorphosis and pupation, it emerges from the cell as a queen bee. The queen is the only bee in a colony that has fully developed ovaries; she secretes a pheromone that suppresses the normal development of ovaries in all of her workers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mucignat-Caretta|first=Carla|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3I-lAgAAQBAJ&q=queen+bee+reproduction+hypopharyngeal|title=Neurobiology of Chemical Communication|date=2014-02-14|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4665-5341-5|language=en}}</ref>

Beekeepers use the ability of the bees to produce new queens to increase their colonies in a procedure called ''splitting a colony''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kearney|first=Hilary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sf1rDwAAQBAJ&q=splitting|title=QueenSpotting: Meet the Remarkable Queen Bee and Discover the Drama at the Heart of the Hive; Includes 48 Queenspotting Challenges|date=2019-04-30|publisher=Storey Publishing|isbn=978-1-63586-038-2}}</ref> To do this, they remove several brood combs from a healthy hive, leaving the old queen behind. These combs must contain eggs or larvae less than three days old and be covered by young nurse bees, which care for the brood and keep it warm. These brood combs and  nurse bees are then placed into a small "nucleus hive" with other combs containing honey and pollen. As soon as the nurse bees find themselves in this new hive, and realize they have no queen and begin constructing emergency queen cells using the eggs and larvae in the combs.<ref name=":1"/>

== Pests and diseases==
=== Diseases ===
{{Main|List of diseases of the honey bee}}
The common agents of disease that affect adult honey bees include fungi, bacteria, [[protozoa]], viruses, parasites and poisons. The gross symptoms displayed by affected adult bees are very similar, whatever the cause, making it difficult to ascertain the causes without microscopic identification of microorganisms or chemical analysis of poisons.<ref name="Grout">{{cite book|title=The hive and the honey bee: a new book on beekeeping which continues the tradition of "Langstroth on the hive and the honeybee"|editor=Grout, Roy A.|publisher=Dadant and Sons.|year=1949|page=607|chapter=Diseases of Adult bees|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K84OAAAAQAAJ&q=diseases%20of%20bees&pg=PA607|access-date=21 June 2013|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726063826/https://books.google.com/books?id=K84OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA607&q=diseases%20of%20bees|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2006, colony losses from [[colony collapse disorder]] (CCD) have been increasing across the world, although the causes of the syndrome are unknown.<ref>{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Renee|title= Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder|year=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://science.time.com/2013/05/07/beepocalypse-redux-honey-bees-are-still-dying-and-we-still-dont-know-why/|title=Beepocalypse Redux: Honeybees Are Still Dying – and We Still Don't Know Why|last=Walsh|first=Bryan|date=7 May 2013|work=Time Science and Space|publisher=Time Inc|access-date=21 June 2013|archive-date=7 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607031746/http://science.time.com/2013/05/07/beepocalypse-redux-honey-bees-are-still-dying-and-we-still-dont-know-why/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the U.S., commercial beekeepers have been increasing the number of hives to deal with [[Pollination#Economics of pollination|higher rates of attrition]].<ref>{{Cite news|title = Call off the bee-pocalypse: U.S. honeybee colonies hit a 20-year high|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/23/call-off-the-bee-pocalypse-u-s-honeybee-colonies-hit-a-20-year-high/|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = 2015-07-23|access-date = 2015-12-01|issn = 0190-8286|language = en-US|first = Christopher|last = Ingraham|archive-date = 2015-11-30|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151130082605/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/23/call-off-the-bee-pocalypse-u-s-honeybee-colonies-hit-a-20-year-high/|url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Parasites ===
''[[Nosema apis]]'' is a ''[[microsporidian]]'' that causes [[nosemosis]], also called nosema, the most-common and widespread disease of the adult honey bee.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sulborska |first1=Aneta |last2=Horeca |first2=Beata |last3=Cebrat |first3=Malgorzata |last4=Kowalczyk |first4=Marek |last5=Skrzypek |first5=Tomasz H. |last6=Kazimierczak |first6=Waldemar |last7=Trytek |first7=Mariusz |last8=Borsuk |first8=Grzegorz |title=Microsporidia Nosema spp. – obligate bee parasites are transmitted by air |url=https://rdcu.be/b5668 |journal=Scientific Reports |year=2019 |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=14376 |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-50974-8 |pmid=31591451 |pmc=6779873 |bibcode=2019NatSR...914376S |access-date=7 October 2019 |ref=Article number: 14376 (2019) }}</ref>

''[[Galleria mellonella]]'' and ''[[lesser wax moth|Achroia grisella]]'' wax moth larvae hatch, tunnel through and destroy comb that contains bee larvae and their honey stores. The tunnels they create are lined with silk, which entangles and starves emerging bees. Destruction of honeycombs also results in leakage and wasting of honey. A healthy hive can manage wax moths but weak colonies, unoccupied hives and stored frames can be decimated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kwadha|first1=Charles A.|last2=Ong'amo|first2=George O.|last3=Ndegwa|first3=Paul N.|last4=Raina|first4=Suresh K.|last5=Fombong|first5=Ayuka T.|date=2017-06-09|title=The Biology and Control of the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella|journal=Insects|language=en|volume=8|issue=2|pages=61|doi=10.3390/insects8020061|pmid=28598383|pmc=5492075|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Small hive beetle]] (''Aethina tumida'') is native to Africa but has now spread to most continents. It is a serious pest among honey bees unadapted to it.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hood|first=Michael|year=2004|title=The small hive beetle, ''Aethina tumida'': a review|url=http://www.orsba.org/htdocs/download/SHB.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Bee World|volume=85|issue=3|pages=51–59|doi=10.1080/0005772X.2004.11099624|s2cid=83632463|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220841/http://www.orsba.org/htdocs/download/SHB.pdf|archive-date=20 May 2014}}</ref>

''[[Varroa destructor]]'', the Varroa mite, is an established pest of two species of honey bee through many parts of the world and is blamed by many researchers as a leading cause of CCD.<ref name="Oliver, P1">{{cite web |last1=Oliver |first1=Randy |title=The Varroa Problem: Part 1 @ Scientific Beekeeping |url=http://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-varroa-problem-part-1/ |website=scientificbeekeeping.com |access-date=14 August 2018 |language=en |date=2017-01-30 |archive-date=2018-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814203947/http://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-varroa-problem-part-1/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Tropilaelaps]]'' mites, of which there are four species, are native to ''[[Apis dorsata]]'', ''[[Apis laboriosa]]'', and ''[[Apis breviligula]]'', but spread to ''[[Apis mellifera]]'' after they were introduced to Asia.<ref name="TropResearch">{{citation |last1=Anderson |first1=Denis |last2=Roberts |first2=John |title=Standard methods for Tropilaelaps mites research |date=2013}}</ref>

''[[Acarapis woodi]]'', the tracheal mite, infests the trachea of honey bees.<ref name="ARS">{{cite web|date=February 18, 2005|title="Tracheal mites" Tarsonemidae|url=http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/acari/content/trachealmites.html|url-status=dead|publisher=[[Agricultural Research Service]], [[United States Department of Agriculture]]|access-date=March 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517030353/http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/acari/content/trachealmites.html|archive-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref>

=== Predators ===
Most predators prefer not to eat honeybees due to their unpleasant sting. Common honeybee predators include large animals such as skunks and bears, which seek the hive's honey and brood, as well as adult bees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sciencing.com/predators-honeybee-8151103.html|title=What are some predators of the honeybee?|website=sciencing.com|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=2020-07-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726075826/https://sciencing.com/predators-honeybee-8151103.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Some birds will also eat bees, (for example, [[bee-eater]]s, as do some robber flies, such as ''[[Mallophora ruficauda]]'', which is a pest of apiculture in South America due to its habit of eating workers while they are foraging in meadows.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Castelo|first1=Marcela K|last2=Lazzari|first2=Claudio R|date=2004-04-01|title=Host-seeking behavior in larvae of the robber fly Mallophora ruficauda (Diptera: Asilidae)|journal=Journal of Insect Physiology |volume=50|issue=4 |pages=331–336 |doi=10.1016/j.jinsphys.2004.02.002 |pmid=15081826 |bibcode=2004JInsP..50..331C |issn=0022-1910 }}</ref>

=== Decreasing lifespan ===
A 2022 study by researchers at [[University of Maryland, College Park]] observed lifespan of caged worker bees is half as long as that  observed 50 years ago, and hypothesized decreased worker-bee lifespans should correlate to decreased honey production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nearman |first1=Anthony |last2=vanEngelsdorp |first2=Dennis |date=2022-11-14 |title=Water provisioning increases caged worker bee lifespan and caged worker bees are living half as long as observed 50 years ago |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=18660 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-21401-2 |pmid=36376353 |pmc=9663547 |bibcode=2022NatSR..1218660N |s2cid=253501180 |issn=2045-2322}}</ref>

== Recent developments ==

=== World Beekeeping Awards 2024 ===
The World Beekeeping Awards, held in December 2024, showcased the global importance of apiculture and honey production. The event, which took place in London, United Kingdom, featured entries from over 50 countries and highlighted the diverse range of honey varieties produced worldwide. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-30 |title=World Beekeeping Awards axe honey prize due to fraud |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw0w921nzgo |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Honey fraud scandal ===
However, the 2024 World Beekeeping Awards were marred by a significant scandal involving honey fraud. Investigators uncovered a sophisticated operation where some contestants had submitted adulterated honey samples.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-30 |title=World Beekeeping Awards axe honey prize due to fraud |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw0w921nzgo |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The fraudulent entries contained:

* Honey diluted with sugar syrup
* Mislabeled honey varieties
* Honey from undisclosed geographical origins

This incident has raised concerns about the integrity of honey production and labeling practices in the global market. As a result, the World Beekeeping Association has announced plans to implement more rigorous testing procedures for future competitions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-30 |title=World Beekeeping Awards axe honey prize due to fraud |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw0w921nzgo |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Industry response ===
In response to the fraud scandal, several measures have been proposed to enhance honey authenticity and protect consumers:

# Advanced testing methods: Implementation of more sophisticated laboratory techniques to detect adulteration.
# Blockchain technology: Exploration of blockchain-based traceability systems to track honey from hive to shelf.
# Stricter regulations: Calls for more stringent international standards and enforcement of honey labeling and production practices.

These developments highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the beekeeping industry in maintaining product integrity and consumer trust in an increasingly global market. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-30 |title=World Beekeeping Awards axe honey prize due to fraud |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw0w921nzgo |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== World apiculture ==
According to [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] data,<ref>{{Cite web|title=FAOSTAT|url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=www.fao.org}}</ref> the world's beehive stock rose from around 50 million in 1961 to around 83 million in 2014, which represents an annual average growth of  1.3%. Average annual growth has accelerated to 1.9% since 2009.

[[File:World beehive stock 1961-2014 (FAO).png|thumb|600x600px|World's stock of beehives from 1961 to 2014]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ World honey production and consumption in 2005
|-
! Country || Production (1000 metric tons) || Consumption (1000 metric tons)|| Number of beekeepers||Number of bee hives
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"| Europe and Russia
|-
|{{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[Ukraine]] (*2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| *69.94
| style="text-align:right;"| 52
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russia]] (*2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| 63.53
| style="text-align:right;"| 54
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 37.00
| style="text-align:right;"| 40
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]] (*2008)
| style="text-align:right;"| 21.23
| style="text-align:right;"| 89
| style="text-align:right;"| 90,000*
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,000,000*
|-
|{{flagicon|Hungary}} [[Hungary]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 19.71
| style="text-align:right;"| 4
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Romania}} [[Romania]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 19.20
| style="text-align:right;"| 10
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Greece}} [[Greece]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 16.27
| style="text-align:right;"| 16
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|France}} [[France]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 15.45
| style="text-align:right;"| 30
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Bulgaria]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.22
| style="text-align:right;"| 2
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Serbia}} [[Serbia]]
| style="text-align:right;"|3 to 5
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 30,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 430,000
|-
|{{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]] (*1996)
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 5
| style="text-align:right;"| *4,000
| style="text-align:right;"| *150,000
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"| North America
|-
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[United States]] (*2006, **2002, ***2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| ***71.18
| style="text-align:right;"| 158.75*
| style="text-align:right;"| 12,029** (210,000 bee keepers)
| style="text-align:right;"| ***2,812,000
|-
|{{flagicon|Canada}} [[Canada]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 45 (2006); 28 (2007)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/23-221-x/23-221-x2007000-eng.pdf |title=ARCHIVED – PDF document |website=Statcan.gc.ca |date=2010-05-17 |access-date=2016-03-12 |archive-date=2022-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119131243/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/23-221-x/23-221-x2007000-eng.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> 80.35(2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| 29
| style="text-align:right;"|13,000
| style="text-align:right;"|500,000
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"| Latin America
|-
|{{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Argentina|Argentina (*2019)]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 93.42 (Average 84)<ref name="vef.hr">{{cite journal |url=http://www.vef.hr/vetarhiv/papers/2009-79-4-9.pdf |title=Economic aspects of beekeeping production in Croatia |journal=Veterinarski Arhiv |volume=79 |pages=397–408 |date=2009 |access-date=2016-03-12 |archive-date=2011-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721103122/http://www.vef.hr/vetarhiv/papers/2009-79-4-9.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| style="text-align:right;"| 3
|
|*2984290
|-
|{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Mexico]] (*2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| *61.99
| style="text-align:right;"| 31
|
|*2157870
|-
|{{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Brazil]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 33.75
| style="text-align:right;"| 2
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[Uruguay]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.87
| style="text-align:right;"| 1
|
|
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"| Oceania
|-
|{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Australia]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 18.46
| style="text-align:right;"| 16
| style="text-align:right;"| 12,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 520,000<ref>Bee Aware website [http://beeaware.org.au/industry/ Industry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514012337/http://beeaware.org.au/industry/ |date=2016-05-14 }} Retrieved May 13, 2016</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|New Zealand}} [[New Zealand]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.69
| style="text-align:right;"| 8
| style="text-align:right;"| 2602
| style="text-align:right;"| 313,399
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"| Asia
|-
|{{flagicon|PRC}} [[China]] (*2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| *444.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 238
|
| style="text-align:right;"| 7,200,000<ref name="vef.hr" />
|-
|{{flagicon|Turkey}} [[Turkey]] (*2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| *109.33
| style="text-align:right;"| 66
|
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,500,000<ref name="vef.hr" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.uniud.it/eurbee/Proceedings/beekeeping%20in%20EU.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218011253/http://web.uniud.it/eurbee/Proceedings/beekeeping%20in%20EU.pdf |archive-date=2005-12-18 |title=The prospects for beekeeping in the expanded EU }}</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|Iran}} [[Iran]] (*2019)
|*75.46
|
|
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,500,000<ref name="vef.hr" />
|-
|{{flagicon|India}} [[India]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 52.23
| style="text-align:right;"| 45
|
| style="text-align:right;"| 9,800,000<ref name="vef.hr" />
|-
|{{flagicon|ROK}} [[South Korea]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 23.82
| style="text-align:right;"| 27
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Vietnam}} [[Vietnam]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 13.59
| style="text-align:right;"| 0
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Turkmenistan}} [[Turkmenistan]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.46
| style="text-align:right;"| 10
|
|
|-
! colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"| Africa
|-
|{{flagicon|Ethiopia}} [[Ethiopia]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 41.23
| style="text-align:right;"| 40
|
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,400,000
|-
|{{flagicon|Tanzania}} [[Tanzania]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 28.68
| style="text-align:right;"| 28
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Angola}} [[Angola]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 23.77
| style="text-align:right;"| 23
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Kenya}} [[Kenya]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 22.00
| style="text-align:right;"| 21
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Egypt}} [[Egypt]] (*1997)
| style="text-align:right;"| 16*
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 200,000*
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,000,000*
|-
|{{flagicon|Central African Republic}} [[Central African Republic]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 14.23
| style="text-align:right;"| 14
|
|
|-
|{{flagicon|Morocco}} [[Morocco]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.5
| style="text-align:right;"|
| style="text-align:right;"| 27,000
| style="text-align:right;"| 400,000
|-
|{{flagicon|South Africa}} [[South Africa]] (*2008)
| style="text-align:right;"| ≈2.5*<ref name="cssr">{{cite web | url=http://www.cssr.uct.ac.za/sites/cssr.uct.ac.za/files/pubs/WP221.pdf | title=SURVEY OF BEEKEEPING IN SOUTH AFRICA | publisher=Centre for Social Science Research | date=July 2008 | access-date=January 23, 2012 | author1=Conradie, Beatrice | author2=Nortjé, Bronwyn | name-list-style=amp| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202035254/http://www.cssr.uct.ac.za/sites/cssr.uct.ac.za/files/pubs/WP221.pdf | archive-date=December 2, 2012 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| style="text-align:right;"| ≈1.5*<ref name="cssr" />
| style="text-align:right;"| ≈1,790*<ref name="cssr" />
| style="text-align:right;"| ≈92,000*<ref name="cssr" />
|-
| colspan="5"|<small>''Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://faostat.fao.org/site/340/default.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310232049/http://faostat.fao.org/site/340/default.aspx |archive-date=2007-03-10 |title=FAOSTAT}}</ref><br/>''2019 data''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beehive numbers by leading countries worldwide 2019|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/755243/number-of-beehives-in-leading-countries-worldwide/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Statista|language=en|archive-date=2021-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203221159/https://www.statista.com/statistics/755243/number-of-beehives-in-leading-countries-worldwide/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global leading producers of honey worldwide 2019|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/812172/global-top-producers-of-honey/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Statista|language=en|archive-date=2021-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306093136/https://www.statista.com/statistics/812172/global-top-producers-of-honey/|url-status=live}}</ref></small>
|}
{{smalldiv|Sources:
*Denmark: beekeeping.com<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beekeeping.com/countries/denmark.htm|title=Apiservices – Beekeeping – Apiculture – Denmark/Danemark|website=Beekeeping.com|access-date=2016-03-12|archive-date=2016-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317214228/http://www.beekeeping.com/countries/denmark.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> (1996)
*Arab countries: beekeeping.com<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beekeeping.com/articles/us/arab_countries.htm|title=The Future of Bees and Honey Production in Arab Countries|website=Beekeeping.com|access-date=2016-03-12|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040112/http://www.beekeeping.com/articles/us/arab_countries.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> (1997)
*US: University of Arkansas National Agricultural Law Center,<ref>{{cite web|title=Farm Commodity Programs: Honey|url=http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS20759.pdf|work=nationalaglawcenter.org|publisher=National Honey Board|access-date=27 March 2014|year=2002|archive-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927184548/http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS20759.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Agricultural Marketing Resource Center<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/livestock/beesapiculture/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006121928/http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/livestock/beesapiculture/ |archive-date=2006-10-06 |title=Bees}}</ref>
*Serbia<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcela.rs/pcelarstvoSrbiaE.htm|title=Beekeeping in Serbia|first=Miljko|last=Šljivić|website=Pcela.rs|access-date=2016-03-12|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173558/http://www.pcela.rs/pcelarstvoSrbiaE.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

==Gallery: Harvesting honey==
<gallery mode="packed" style="font-size:88%; line-height:130%" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Beekeeper using bee smoker.jpg|Smoking the hive
File:20140905-AMS-LSC-0334 (14965637958).jpg|Beekeepers removing a frame
File:Fork-Beekeeping.jpg|Uncapping the cells with an uncapping fork
File:Filtering of honey.jpg|Filtering the honey
File:Wooden hives7.jpg|Bee farming at Home
File:Wooden hives9.jpg|Wooden hives and farmer with packed honey
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* [[Africanized bee]]
* [[Bee (mythology)]]
* [[Bee removal]]
* [[Biosecurity]]
* [[Castoreum]], a product used by medieval [[beekeeper]]s to increase [[honey]] production
* [[Insects in ethics]]
*[[Insect cognition]]
* [[List of crop plants pollinated by bees]]
* ''[[More Than Honey]]'' – a 2012 Swiss documentary film on honey bees and beekeeping
* ''[[Tetragonula carbonaria]]'' – a bee kept for honey that is not related to the [[Honey bee]]
* [[honey bee life cycle|Western honey bee life cycle]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikibooks|Beekeeping}}
{{Commons}}
* The [http://digital.nls.uk/moir/ Moir Collection] of rare beekeeping books consisting of 250 volumes including items published from 1525 at [[National Library of Scotland]]
* [http://www.dave-cushman.net/ Dave Cushman's indexed website with glossary, about beekeeping]
* [https://farmingmethod.com/bee-farming/ Beekeeping for Beginners]
* [https://mydelicioussweets.com/whats-the-oldest-honey-ever-found/ What’s The Oldest Honey Ever Found?]

{{BeeColonyMemberTypes}}
{{Insects in culture}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Beekeeping| ]]
[[Category:Pollination]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Insects in culture]]