A little creature called apis melifera has provoked an interest unequaled by any other insect. The honey bee, as she is more commonly known, has a heritage that may go back twenty million years fulfilling a major role in the pollination of plants. The transfer of pollen from the anther (or male part) to the stigma (the female part) is essential to the formation of the plant's seeds and the propagation of the species. The plant, to entice the honey bee, secretes nectar.
Enzymes in the honey bee's honey stomach start the conversion from nectar to honey. Subsequent enzyme action and evaporation of water converts ten pounds of nectar into one pound of honey. Honey is the food of bees but it is also an attraction to other animals: among them man.
Man's attraction to sweetness led him to forego the pain of bee stings so that he might have honey. Records of man's encounter with bees exist from as much as 20,000 years ago. Early cave drawings show a man taking honey from a hive while angry bees fly around him.
Folk lore and honey found in ancient Italian and Egyptian tombs, attest to the role that honey has played in mankind's history. Mead, an alcoholic brew, was made from honey that was mixed with water and allowed to ferment. Honey was used for medicinal purposes and as a major sweetener. Beeswax made fine candles.
What once had been wild bee hives that existed in hollow trees and rocks, now became somewhat domesticated beehives in hollow logs, jars, or boxes that were attended by beekeepers. They were moveable in many instances, such as the hives on Egyptian rafts, to follow the flowers as the seasons changed. One problem shared by almost all the early hives was that they were difficult, if possible, to inspect and remove honey from without greatly destroying bees and hive. Gathering honey usually meant killing off some of the hives, mashing the comb once it was removed, and draining off the honey. Later hive designs utilized strips of wood across the top allowing the bees to build free form combs down from them which resulted in hives that were easier to work with but it was not until Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth invented the moveable frame hive that a good design for inspecting bees became available.
With the Langstroth hive, not only could the brood chamber be inspected for disease, but supers could be stacked upward and, since the queen stayed in the lower part of the hive, surplus honey was stored above in frames free from any brood. Though not the first hive to allow expansion, and thus allow for a storage of honey and less crowding of the bees that would force swarming, it was the first design to have comb that was enclosed on four sides by a wooden frame that allowed for easy removal and reuse of the comb. Since four to twelve pounds of honey, and the time, are consumed by bees in the production of one pound of beeswax, honey production could be increased from that alone. Being able to remove surplus honey without having to kill off the bees meant that many more bees were available come spring to gather honey.
Swarming had been the means by which the beekeeper resupplied the hives that had been killed off in the old days. With a hive with removable frames and expandable size, swarming was discouraged. Since swarming greatly reduces the number of bees available to collect nectar and make honey, minimizing swarms maximizes honey production. In suburban areas minimizing swarms can also minimize problems resulting from terrified neighbors as well as controlling hive population and the resulting needs of more time and money to manage them.
The advent of refined white sugar caused honey to be relied upon less than it had been but the recent upsurge in the return to natural foods, for flavor and nutrition, has greatly increased the demand for honey. Food research has also shown additional benefits of honey such as extended freshness of baked goods made with honey.
Even without considering honey production, bees still remain an essential part of nature's scheme. Suburbanization and agricultural practices have greatly reduced the number of wild bees (there are 20,000 species of bees in the world) and as a result pollination has fallen off drastically in some areas to the point that the crops would be unprofitable unless bees were brought in to pollinate them. Since only the honey bee and a few other species lend themselves to easily being hived and moved, farmers must now pay from thirty to eighty dollars per hive to insure proper pollination to get a bountiful harvest of fruit or seed. While it is true that the honey bee is not native to the Americans, neither is the apple, peach, cherry and many other plants that depend upon bees for pollination. As well as all the other pleasures that the honey bee has to offer, she is serving the nation through pollination.
II. GETTING STARTED WITH BEES
III. CONSIDERATION FOR THE BEES
IV. CONCERNS IN THE HANDLING OF BEES
V. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NOVICE BEE KEEPER TRAINING COURSE
VI. Long Island Beekeepers Club Good Neighbor Policy
VII. Additional Suggested Readings for a Comprehensive Understanding of Bees