1. The History of Beekeeping
Henderson County Beekeepers Assoc.
January 15, 2018

2. Prehistoric Bees
100 million years ago, first known bee, Melittosphex Burmensis: Northern Burma, 2006.
14 million years ago, honey bees in North America, Apis Nearctica, Nevada, 2009.
Melittosphex Burmensis
1 million years ago, first evidence of Apis Mellifera.

3. “Bee” C
13,000 B.C. – Cave drawings indicate human interaction with bees.
5,000 B.C. – Cave drawings evidence human “honey hunters” in Eastern Spain.
2,400 B.C. – Egypt, earliest evidence of bees being “kept.”
Chinese, Greeks, Mayans, etc.

4. Medieval Beekeeping
In the Middle Ages many farms and monasteries kept bees.
“If there is a need to move (the hive), it must be done gently and during the night; the hives should be wrapped in skins; they should be set in place before dawn. When it is done in this way the combs will not be damaged and the creatures will not be injured.”
Geoponika, circa A.D.

5. Moving to the New World
1622 – Honey bee colonies shipped from England to Virginia.
By the mid 1700’s honey bees were found throughout the East and Southeast.
By the 1850’s honey bees made it to the West coast.

6. The Honey Harvest – Pre 1850 Hives were kept in hollow logs or skeps.
If the colony outgrew the skep, an extra chamber called an eke would be added to the bottom.
At harvest time the skeps were broken open to collect honey and wax. The bees were destroyed.

7. Reverend Lorenzo L. Langstroth, Philadelphia, PA, circa 1858.
The Father of Modern Beekeeping
Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth, ( ).
Invented “bee space?”
Developed the modern movable comb hive.
Reverend Lorenzo L. Langstroth, Philadelphia, PA, circa 1858.

8. Langstroth beehive advertisement, circa 1858.

9. Advantages of the Langstroth Hive
Allows easy hive inspection without enraging the bees.
Weak colonies can be strengthened.
Space can be added to strong colonies.
Queens can be easily found and replaced.
Diseases, pests and parasites quickly identified and remedied.
Honey can be extracted without destroying the comb and killing the hive.

10. The Modern Hive

11. Beekeeping Today – The Keepers
1,400 commercial beekeepers in the United States.
Over 200,000 “hobbyists.”
13,000 in North Carolina with over 100,000 hives.

12. Beekeeping Today – The Products
Pollination.
Wax.
Honey.
Propolis, and others.

13. Beekeeping Today – The Stuff
Protective clothing.
Smokers.
Hive tools.
Pest and parasite control.
Extractors.
Epi Pens.

14. The Future of Beekeeping?
Harvard scientists have a vision: to build a tiny robot that can fly, work together in groups, and even pollinate flowers like a honeybee.
Science Friday

15. HAPPY BEEKEEPING!!!