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Beekeeping from Antiquity Through the Middle Ages
Abstract
Beekeeping had its origins in honey hunting—the opportunistic stealing of honey from wild honey bee nests. True beekeeping began when humans started providing artificial cavities within which the bees could build comb for the queen to lay her eggs and the workers could process honey. By 2450 BCE, the Egyptians had developed sophisticated apiculture, and, within two millennia, beekeeping with horizontal hives had spread throughout the Mediterranean. During Europe's Middle Ages, honey and wax became important commodities for trade, and beekeeping in skep, log, box, and tree hives flourished to meet the demand. Other species of honey bees contributed to the development and spread of beekeeping in Asia beginning around 300 BCE. Meanwhile, beekeeping evolved independently in Mesoamerica with the stingless bee Melipona beecheii, as documented by archaeological finds and written accounts that survived Spanish conquest.
... The production of honey led to the domestication of bees and development of beekeeping. During this period of coexistence, beekeeping also influenced the development of culture and religion, including the arts (e.g., statues originally carved in wax), local legends, rituals (e.g., honey used in funeral and religious rituals, wax candles in Christianity), and traditional medicine [66]. Moreover, it is believed that the development of eusociality (i.e., higher levels of altruism and cooperation) in insects, such as bees, is similar to the evolution of human societies [67]. ...
... Stingless bees (Melipona beecheii) were simultaneously domesticated by the Mayan civilization in the Yucatan peninsula [87]. Beekeeping began by maintaining hives in logs, ceramic pots, and straw baskets in ancient times, followed by recesses in stones in the medieval period, and finally the recent and progressive development of the modern commercial beehive [66]. Its developments began in the 17th century in Greece by introducing bars on top of vertical hives that would serve as anchors for honeycombs. ...
... Humans also have a dynamic relationship with bees. Besides sharing eusociality, culture has been highly influenced by bees (e.g., use of bee products in art, medicine, and religion) [66]. Presently, beekeeping still contributes to sustainability and community ties while stimulating local food production and a better understanding of ecosystems [70]. ...
The One Health approach recognizes the interconnectedness between human, animal, and environmental health. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) embody this framework due to their crucial role in ecosystems, food production, and susceptibility to contaminants. Despite their suitability for a One Health approach, there is a lack of research showcasing the multidisciplinary impacts and contributions of bees. The objective of this work is to explore the application of the One Health approach to bees through a narrative review. This work highlights the contribution of bees to history and culture, economy, medicine, nutrition, food security, and the functioning of ecosystems. It also demonstrates that bee health is affected by land management, agricultural practices, environmental contaminants, nutritional resource availability, predators and diseases, weather, climate patterns, and beekeeping practices. This complex system is highly influenced by policy and beekeeping practices, which will benefit animal health directly and environmental and human health indirectly. Thus, the protection of bees should be prioritized.
... The credit for the earliest attempts to domesticate honeybees is given to the Egyptians who expectedly started apiculture more than 4500 years ago (Kritsky, 2015(Kritsky, , 2017. They used hollow logs, wooden boxes, pottery vessels (terracotta jars), and woven straw baskets or 'skeps' as the artificial beehives, which imitated the natural beehives (Kritsky, 2017). ...
... The credit for the earliest attempts to domesticate honeybees is given to the Egyptians who expectedly started apiculture more than 4500 years ago (Kritsky, 2015(Kritsky, , 2017. They used hollow logs, wooden boxes, pottery vessels (terracotta jars), and woven straw baskets or 'skeps' as the artificial beehives, which imitated the natural beehives (Kritsky, 2017). The idea to keep bees in log hives has been reported to come from the fallen tree nested by the cavity-nesting bees. ...
... Beeswax was used to make candles and honey was used for making alcoholic mead in the medieval period in Europe. Medieval Europeans were using woven baskets (called skeps) and hollow logs to house their bees (Kritsky, 2017). Beekeeping was also practised in ancient China. ...
... Beekeeping diverged from wild honey harvesting in some societies when humans began to domesticate bees to produce honey by creating spaces for bees to build comb within (Kritsky, 2017). Sophisticated apiculture was practiced as early as 2,450 BCE by the Egyptians (Kritsky, 2017) from where it spread into Europe and eventually around the globe. ...
... Beekeeping diverged from wild honey harvesting in some societies when humans began to domesticate bees to produce honey by creating spaces for bees to build comb within (Kritsky, 2017). Sophisticated apiculture was practiced as early as 2,450 BCE by the Egyptians (Kritsky, 2017) from where it spread into Europe and eventually around the globe. ...
Societal Impact Statement
Humans and honey bees have a long history of interaction to yield valued products and services. However, honey bees are under pressure from changes in vegetation, agricultural practices and climate change. We investigate if pasture legumes can be harnessed to support honey bees. We use a diverse set of species that originated from the Mediterranean and western Europe but are now developed as commercial cultivars for the southern Australian livestock industries. We find that pasture legumes show great promise as a means to support honey bees and suggest that further targeted research is warranted.
Summary
Globally, humans and honey bees (Apis mellifera) have a long history of interaction and this is now under pressure. In temperate southern Australia, exotic honey bees rely on an unstable native floral resource base, yet a diverse set of exotic pasture legume species are sown as staple rotational or permanent crops. We investigated if these pasture legumes could be strategically used to support honey bee populations for the apiary and horticulture industries in this region.
A literature review on temperate pasture legumes and honey bees was undertaken and integrated with data from an Australian industry case study. Comparisons were made to the widely‐grown red clover (Trifolium pratense) and white clover (T. repens).
We found that many southern Australian pasture legumes could provide significant floral resources as well as enhanced temporal and spatial stability for honey bees due to phenological variability and broad adaptation. Honey bees will likely recognise and be attracted to their flowers and other characteristics are comparable, or potentially superior, to red and white clover, such as floret number per inflorescence, floret length, nectar volume and sucrose‐dominance and pollen protein. The floral resource diversity from pasture legume mixes could aid honey bee health and support pollinator services for adjacent crops.
We conclude that the exotic pasture legumes of temperate Australia show promise for development as a sown floral resource for honey bees. Globally, further investigation is merited to maximise benefits from the integration of a diverse range of pasture legumes into agricultural landscapes.
... La apicultura es una actividad humana cuyos inicios se remontan a la antigüedad (3000 AC a 500 DC) (Kritsky, 2017), desarrollada en íntima asociación con el ambiente (Andrews, 2019;Durant, 2021). Para dimensionar e instalar un apiario (FAUTAPO, 2014;Taverna, 2016), definir las actividades de manejo, mantenimiento y cosecha (Montenegro et al., 1992;Fagúndez et al., 2016;Alves & Carneiro, 2021;Méndez et al., 2022), es necesario conocer el ambiente. ...
... Específicamente en Santiago del Estero, donde la actividad tiene importancia económica y social (Tamame, 2011;Céspedes et al., 2021), la literatura se concentró en documentar solamente la riqueza y las recompensas de las especies apícolas. Entre estos encontramos trabajos con enfoques palinológicos (Jiménez, 2004;Céspedes et al., 2015y Cilla et al., 2019, observacionales Grimaldi et al., 2020), etnobotánicos (Palacio et al., 2016;2017;Céspedes et al., 2017) y etnobiológicos (Céspedes et al., 2023). Sin embargo, no se registraron estudios de la flora apícola en relación con la disponibilidad temporal, el comportamiento de la oferta y las preferencias de A. mellifera. ...
La actividad apícola está íntimamente relacionada al ambiente, siendo la flora un componente fundamental que aporta recursos a la colmena. Determinar la disponibilidad de recursos es esencial para su planificación. Nos propusimos evaluar la oferta de la flora apícola y preferencia de Apis mellifera en apiarios en áreas de riego y secano del departamento Silípica. Realizamos muestreos cada 15-21 días alrededor de seis apiarios (tres en cada área) durante el 2017-2019. Se registraron un total de 206 especies apícolas (140 en riego y 135 en secano), predominando Asteraceae y Fabaceae. Destacaron especies nativas (74% riego, 93% secano), con mayor presencia de hierbas (45% riego y 32% secano), respecto de árboles (12% riego y 29% secano) y arbustos (23% riego y 19% secano). En ambas áreas predominaron especies con niveles medios y bajos de abundancia-cobertura. La oferta, principalmente nectaríferopolinífera, se extiende todo el año registrándose picos de máxima floración en primavera-verano y mínimas entre junio-julio. Pocas son “muy preferidas” (16% riego y 17% secano). Este estudio enriquece la bibliografía provincial sobre especies apícolas, recursos disponibles y épocas de floración. Además, presenta datos inéditos sobre abundancia-cobertura, preferencias de A. mellifera y calendario de floración mediante muestreos temporales de la flora local.
... The archaeological remains of beekeeping are remarkable, such as the rock paintings found in Spain, in the Cueva de la Araña in Bicorp, Valencia, which are estimated to date from the Mesolithic period (10,000 BC -5,000 BC), when, according to several authors (Sepúlveda-Gil,1986;Roffet-Salque et al., 2015;Kritsky, 2017), beekeeping emerged. It is estimated that the global market for natural honey will register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4 %, with the North American market being the fastest-growing and the Asia-Pacific market being the largest, with China and Turkey currently the main honey producers, while Germany and Japan are among the main importers (Mordor Intelligence, 2022). ...
... Nevertheless, it is worth noting that, as indicated by Daberkow et al. (2009), 90 % of the services rendered by these insects to populations revolve around the crucial ecosystem service of pollination. While honeybees (Apis mellifera) have been "domesticated" for honey production since the Mesolithic period, Kritsky (2017) posits that it is in recent decades when beekeeping has transitioned into a professional pursuit. Hence, both apiculture and api-tourism assume vital significance in this context. ...
The study presents api-tourism as an opportunity to promote rural development within
the new paradigm of regenerative tourism by promoting sustainable and reparative values and practices. It
shows how api-tourism can influence on the preservation of biodiversity, employment, and population in
areas of very low population density, such as the Serranías de Interior in Spain. A region that covers a vast
area of 65,489 km² that is highly depopulated, representing 13 % of the country's territory. The text uses
the methodological triangulation approach, which involves a bibliographic and bibliometric review of the
neologism "api-tourism" and related tourism modalities. The research also analyses the related econometric
variables through case studies, in-depth interviews, and participant observation of agritourism operations
dedicated to api-tourism. This approach leads to the characterization of a novel regenerative tourism model
that strengthens ecosystems’ health and contributes to the retention of rural populations. This model is proposed for its greater resilience against climate change, from a social, human geography, and ecological perspective.
... Bajo esta definición, la evidencia más antigua de abejas melíferas manejadas se remonta a 2450 a.C. en Egipto, donde los relieves de piedra muestran a apicultores trabajando con colmenas de abejas melíferas (Crane, 1999). La apicultura se desarrolló de forma independiente en muchas partes del mundo (Kritsky, 2017). En Asia la abeja melífera oriental que anida en cavidades (Apis cerana) parece haber sido manejada por primera vez mucho más tarde, con la primera evidencia de apicultura con A. cerana que data de 158-166 d.C. en China (Kritsky, 2017) y 300 a.C. en Afganistán y Pakistán. ...
... La apicultura se desarrolló de forma independiente en muchas partes del mundo (Kritsky, 2017). En Asia la abeja melífera oriental que anida en cavidades (Apis cerana) parece haber sido manejada por primera vez mucho más tarde, con la primera evidencia de apicultura con A. cerana que data de 158-166 d.C. en China (Kritsky, 2017) y 300 a.C. en Afganistán y Pakistán. En Mesoamérica los mayas desarrollaron una cultura apícola en torno a la abeja sin aguijón Melipona beecheii, cuya primera evidencia data de entre 190 a.C. y 250 d.C. (Chase y Chase, 2005) y el cultivo de Scaptotri gona mexicana ha sido muy importante en la región de la Sierra Norte de Puebla y Veracruz desde hace por lo menos 500 años. ...
Las abejas son el grupo más abundante y diverso de polinizadores en el planeta, de las que existen más de 20,000 especies. Sin embargo, sólo 19 de ellas se utilizan a escala comercial para la polinización de cultivos y otras 40 se han usado, abandonado o se han usado a nivel de experimentación. En este libro intentamos una primera aproximación a la diversidad y posible uso de especies de abejas nativas mexicanas que tienen potencial como polinizadores de cultivos como la calabaza, los chiles, el chayote y otros. Aunque no tratamos grupos de gran importancia como los abejorros sociales del género Bombus ni los abejorros carpinteros del género Xylocopa, intentamos cubrir una buena parte de la gama de abejas que son polinizadores naturales de muchas plantas. Esta obra fue elaborada por tres profesionales mexicanos, interesados en las abejas y presenta por primera vez información sobre varias especies de abejas nativas mexicanas, su biología y su importancia como polinizadores. Todo esto escrito de la forma más amena posible, con la intención de llegar a la mayor cantidad de lectores interesados en el tema.
... In the old kingdom, the earliest inscription exemplifying beekeeping came from the sun temple of pharaoh Newossere in the fifth dynasty and back to 2450 B.C.E. [27]. In the sun temple, a room adjacent to the central obelisk was discovered by Ludwig Borchardt in 1898 and called "The Chamber of the Seasons" as it contains reliefs of activities that happened at particular times of the year, and one of them was found to be the oldest evidence of beekeeping [1,27]. ...
... [27]. In the sun temple, a room adjacent to the central obelisk was discovered by Ludwig Borchardt in 1898 and called "The Chamber of the Seasons" as it contains reliefs of activities that happened at particular times of the year, and one of them was found to be the oldest evidence of beekeeping [1,27]. The bas-relief from left to right shows four scenes: (I) a beekeeper working with the beehives; (II) three men pouring honey into containers; (III) two men processing honey (this scene is mostly missing); (IV) a beekeeper sealing honey in a vessel for storage [1]. ...
Simple Summary
The Egyptian honeybee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) is one of the honeybee subspecies known for centuries since the ancient Egypt civilization. The subspecies of the Egyptian honeybee is distinguished by certain traits of appearance and behavior that were well-adapted to the environment and unique in a way that it is resistant to bee diseases, such as the Varroa disease. The subspecies is different than those found in Europe and is native to southern Egypt. Therefore, a special care should be paid to the vulnerable A. m. lamarckii subspecies and greater knowledge about the risk factors as well as conservation techniques will protect these bees. Additionally, more qualitative and quantitative measures will be taken to obtain deep insights into the A. m. lamarckii products’ chemical profile and biological characters.
Abstract
Egypt has an ongoing long history with beekeeping, which started with the ancient Egyptians making various reliefs and inscriptions of beekeeping on their tombs and temples. The Egyptian honeybee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) is an authentic Egyptian honeybee subspecies utilized in apiculture. A. m. lamarckii is a distinct honeybee subspecies that has a particular body color, size, and high levels of hygienic behavior. Additionally, it has distinctive characteristics; including the presence of the half-queens, an excessive number of swarm cells, high adaptability to climatic conditions, good resistance to specific bee diseases, including the Varro disorder, and continuous breeding during the whole year despite low productivity, using very little propolis, and tending to abscond readily. This review discusses the history of beekeeping in Egypt and its current situation in addition to its morphology, genetic analysis, and distinctive characters, and the defensive behaviors of native A. m. lamarckii subspecies.
... However, when it is developed in biosphere reserves or reserves of ecological value, it can be threatened by a series of negative effects that should be considered when planning and marketing a route. Thus, destinations with an image "too attractive" (Engel et al., 2012;Kotler & Bowen, 1978) deteriorate the visitor experience (crowds, waiting, prices, etc and in some cases there is even talk of the need to introduce "de-marketing" strategies (McKercher & Du Cros, 2002), consisting of actions aimed at reducing the influx of tourists and/or visitors to certain destinations or cultural resources where this massive influx is putting sustainability at risk (Azuara Grande, 2018;Recuero Virto et al., 2016). The latter authors consider that the main objectives of rural and nature tourism marketing are the creation of economic, social, and environmental sustainability (Mill an V azquez et al., 2006) around the heritage products that are offered, for which it is essential to establish "stability and generate value" between destinations and tourists. ...
... According to recent studies, samples of beeswax have been found in ceramics from various Neolithic settlements in Europe (Roffet-Salque et al., 2015). Noteworthy are the cave paintings showing a female figure collecting honey in the Cueva de la Araña de Bicorp (Valencia, Spain), which are estimated to originate from the Mesolithic period (10,000 BC À 5,000 BC) the period in which, according to various authors, beekeeping emerged (Kritsky, 2017;Sepulveda-Gil, 1986). (Nowadays tours are organized by the Ecomuseum of Bicorp with guided routes to the cave). ...
Routes in general, including agritourism routes focused on beekeeping, activate the socio-economic and sustainable development of the territories. A route is a unit of analysis that acts as a cluster, dynamizing several tourist centers, services, resources, and attractions while reducing environmental impacts. These synergies are much needed in the poorest and most depopulated rural areas. However, these areas, generally of high ecological and landscape value require a type of tourist activity with controlled impacts that favors the regeneration of the social and natural environment. To delve into all this, a pioneering theoretical analysis of Api-tourism and its routes was carried out. These premises and underlying models were contrasted deductively through the exploitation of secondary sources and empirically during fieldwork on “honey routes”, as case studies. It is concluded that Api-tourism routes are an emerging model of tourism activity and a significant representation of the new model of regenerative tourism.
... Human cultures have prized honey for millennia, but prior to the modern period its removal from wild bee colonies was effectively a one-off act of looting. Where honeybees could be encouraged to build their nests in human-made hives, such as the woven baskets or 'skeps' used for this purpose for centuries, these were inaccessible to humans once the nest was constructed within, and it was impossible to visually observe what was occurring inside or to extract honey without the partial or complete destruction of the colony (Crane, 1999;Kritsky, 2010Kritsky, , 2017. The first hives to overcome this problem, which emerged in the mid-nineteenth century, did so by incorporating separate frames which could be easily removed and replaced, facilitating the extraction of honey as well as regular colony inspection by beekeepers. ...
This article examines the emerging technology of ‘smart hives’ which use sensors fitted to beehives to monitor and record multiple aspects of honey bees’ activity along with various measures of the health and productivity of the colony. The data feeds analytic algorithms which can guide hive and pollination management, purportedly enabling improvements in pollination efficacy alongside reduced environmental impacts. In this way ‘precision pollination’ is hailed as an answer to the challenges of pollinator decline whilst ensuring food security in the context of climate change. Drawing from scholarship on capitalist orientations to nature, socio-ecological crises and fixes, and the ‘real subsumption of nature under capital’, this article outlines a political ecology of digital pollination, situating ‘smart hives’ in the context of the industrialisation of pollination. It argues not just that ‘smart hives’ mark a shift from the formal to the real subsumption of pollination under capital as a ‘fix’ for the socio-ecological crisis of commercial pollination services, but that this is underpinned by an intensification of the pollination work of bees in conjunction with the real subsumption of the labour of beekeepers. In this way it contributes to a multispecies framing of real subsumption which reckons with the role of shifting modalities of capitalist appropriation of human and nonhuman work.
... Following the initial honey-hunting, by 2450 BC, the Egyptians had developed an advanced beekeeping industry, which spread throughout the Mediterranean within the next two millennia. In the European Middle Ages, honey and wax became essential trade commodities, and beekeeping flourished [1]. Practised with rudimentary methods, beekeeping evolved in the light of scientific discoveries and developments to modern beekeeping [2]. ...
This study examined the conditions and factors affecting honey production in Hungary from the perspective of Hungarian beekeepers. Due to the scarcity of research on Hungary, this study can be considered a missing piece. The survey was based on a questionnaire survey (N = 632). Basic statistical tools (frequencies, means) were used to describe the data. To assess differences between some categorical variables, cross-stability was assessed using chi-square tests, and non-parametric tests were used. Based on the study results, the study population has an average of 101 colonies per beekeeper. Beekeepers with a low number of colonies are mainly hobby beekeepers for whom non-economic goals are a priority. The average honey yield is 40 kg per bee colony, with a wide variation between counties. The primary function of beekeeping is production and selling, followed by the importance of pollinating crops and other plants, maintaining natural landscapes and habitats, and conserving plant biodiversity. Around 80% of beekeepers keep bees primarily for income, which is consistent with production and selling as their primary activity. The main problems identified are bee mite infestation (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman), bee poisoning from pesticides, Nosema (Nosema apis Zander; Nosema ceranae Huang) infection, problems with sales and profitability, and lack of bee pastures.
... Humans have domesticated honey bees for thousands of years [13,14]. This process included developing structures to house and transport bees, which is documented as far back as ancient Egypt [15,16]. Over time, bee husbandry increasingly diverged from the way bees naturally build and maintain their colonies. ...
Simple Summary
We provided honey bees (Apis mellifera) with two different hive setups and compared the bees’ ability to maintain colony homeostasis. We conducted a field experiment in a Mediterranean climate covering the period when honey bees were most active, including the dry and hot summer months. We found that bees were perfectly capable of maintaining temperature and humidity within remarkably narrow ranges in areas where vulnerable individuals are present, such as frames with developing brood and the queen, but that the hive setup impacted the bee’s ability to regulate them. We conclude that the hive type and setup can provide opportunities to manage honey bee health, which could be helpful in the future to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Abstract
The colonies of honey bees are mostly sessile organisms. Consequently, the type of nest boxes that beekeepers provide to their bees should impact a colony’s ability to maintain homeostasis, which is a key determinant of performance and fitness. Here, we used European honey bees (Apis mellifera) and provided them with two hive setups widely used and known as Langstroth and Warré. We compared colony performance in a Mediterranean climate for five months from late spring to early autumn, which covered the most active time of bees and included periods of heat and drought. We found that irrespective of hive type or season, honey bees kept hive temperature and humidity within a remarkably narrow range. Nevertheless, the hive type impacted the daily fluctuations in temperature and humidity. In Warré hives, where bees have more autonomy to build and maintain their combs, we found that bees were able to reduce daily fluctuations in temperature and humidity and kept both measures closer to the overall average. This increase in colony homeostasis found in Warré hives negatively correlated with other hive performance indicators, such as immunocompetence. We conclude that different hive types affect key areas, such as the central part of the colony with frames of developing brood or the queen, which are the most susceptible individuals. This implies that climatic changes resulting in extreme weather events are expected to impact colony performance and fitness, especially in non-managed honey bees that are limited by available nesting sites. For managed bees, adaptations to existing hive setups could be provided to help bees minimize the effects of abiotic stress.
... With growing awareness of the environmental benefits of bees, beekeeping is increasingly recognized as a vital agricultural practice that significantly contributes to the pollination process (Vrabcová and Hájek, 2020). The origins of beekeeping have returned to 9000 years, while modern beekeeping, as we know, began in the 19th century (Kritsky, 2017;Roffet-Salque et al., 2015). ...
Twenty-eight beekeepers around Slovakia were included in the research to evaluate the presence of mercury in honeybee bodies and selected bee-related products: bee pollen and honey. The samples were collected in May, June, and July (honeybee bodies only in May and June). During this period, moss and lichen bags for air quality assessment were exposed around the beehives and relative accumulation factor (RAF) was used for its evaluation. Mercury content in evaluated bioindicators was determined using AMA 254 analyser. Percentage of provisional tolerable intake (%PTWI) and target hazard quotient (THQ) were used to determine health risks related to bee pollen and honey consumption. Around the beehives the proportion of landscape structure elements was determined for each sampling locality, using a geographical informational system QGIS. The aim of the study was a comprehensive evaluation of the mercury content in the environment around beehives using several bio-indicators and an assessment of the relationship between the presence of mercury pollution and the proportion of landscape structure elements in the vicinity of the beehives. The study also aimed to evaluate the transfer of contaminants between bee bodies and bee-related products and the health risks resulting from their consumption.
... Anadolu çömleklerinde 9.000 yıl öncesine ait balmumunun kimyasal kanıtlarına rastlanmıştır. İspanya'daki mağara ve kaya çizimlerinde 8.000 ila 7.000 yıl öncesine ait olduğu düşünülen bal peteklerinin bölümlerini toplayan bal avcıları tasvirleri bulunmuştur (Kritsky, 2017a). Çatalhöyük'te yapılan kazılarda, antik kentte M.Ö. ...
Turistler gidecekleri bölgenin ayırt edici kültürel ve doğal güzelliklerini görmek ve farklı olanı hissetmek, yaşamak için yeni turizm türleri aramaktadırlar. Son yıllarda popüler olmaya başlayan apiturizm turistlerin arıcılık, arı ürünleri, bal çeşitleri, bal üretimi ve arı kovanlarındaki yaşam hakkında her şeyi öğrenme fırsatına sahip olabildiği bir turistik deneyimdir. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, inovatif bir turizm çeşidi olarak apiturizm olgusunun incelenmesi ve doküman analizi yöntemiyle istatistiki verilere dayalı olarak 15 Avrupa ülkesi (Almanya, Avusturya, Bulgaristan, Çek Cumhuriyeti, Fransa, İngiltere, İspanya, İtalya, Litvanya, Macaristan, Polonya, Portekiz, Romanya, Slovenya, Yunanistan) ile Türkiye’nin apiturizm gelişiminin karşılaştırmalı olarak değerlendirilmesidir. Bu doğrultuda, çalışmada öncelikle inovatif bir ürün olarak apiturizm olgusu ve temel aktiviteleri irdelenmiş, araştırma sürecinde ise Avrupa ülkelerinin ve Türkiye’nin apiturizm gelişimi ikincil istatistiki verilere dayalı olarak karşılaştırmalı şekilde değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışma çerçevesinde Avrupa ülkeleri ile Türkiye’de faaliyet gösteren apiturizm müzeleri/ziyaretçi merkezleri web üzerinden gerçekleştirilen kapsamlı bir tarama işlemi ile belirlenmiş ve bulgular tablolaştırılarak sunulmuştur. İncelenen ülkeler içinde en fazla sayıda apiturizm müzesine sahip ülkelerin sırasıyla Fransa, Almanya, İngiltere ve İspanya olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Türkiye’nin apiturizm potansiyelinin Avrupa ülkelerinden çok daha yüksek olmasına rağmen bu konuya Avrupa ülkelerinden daha az önem verdiği, daha az yatırım yaptığı anlaşılmıştır.
... Beekeeping has become essential to human life (Fels et al., 2019;Kritsky, 2017). This cannot be separated from the role and function of honeybees in supporting human daily living needs (Chanthayod et al., 2017). ...
The Indonesian beekeeping industry, grappling with diverse bee species, focuses on the sustainability of operations, particularly with the introduction of Apis mellifera during the early stages of the pandemic. This study explores post-pandemic Apis mellifera honey production in Indonesia, analyzing its impact on prices and business sustainability. Surveys and interviews were conducted with beekeepers in Java and Sumatra, primary islands with significant A. mellifera activities, along with data collection from other regions from January 2022 to October/November 2023. Monthly observations centered on honey production and prices for industrial purposes. The study uncovered two beekeeping systems: migratory in Java and stationery in Sumatra. Carpa honey from Accacia crassicarpa plantation emerged as a suitable industrial honey, displaying sustainable production, seasonality, and a large carpa area as bee forages, contributing to colony growth. Conversely, four Java honey types showed lower productivity, indicating a potential absence of honey seasons. Carpa honey prices ranged from IDR 25,200 to IDR 31,000 per kg, influenced by market size, production, competition, productivity, costs, and producer-consumer interactions. Despite a pandemic-induced surge in the honey market, sustaining high productivity and increasing colony numbers are crucial for long-term honey production sustainability.
... Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are one of the best monitored and most widely used commercial crop pollinators worldwide. The practice of managing honey bees has been developing for millennia to obtain commercial products such as honey, wax, and propolis (Kritsky, 2017). It was not until 1851 that the invention of the movable frame hive gave rise to the existence of modern beekeeping practices and the extension of the use of honey bee colonies for commercial agriculture (Oxley and Oldroyd, 2010). ...
... Mesmo outros primatas, como chimpanzés parecem ter desenvolvido ferramentas para coleta de mel, sugerindo que esta forma de açúcar pode ter influenciado a história humana até mesmo antes do surgimento da nossa espécie e da nossa humanidade (Criskette et al, 2009). Se a origem da relação com abelhas na antiguidade apresenta-se difusa, sabemos, por exemplo, que entre os registros das civilizações antigas tanto os egípcios com as abelhas A. mellifera, quanto os povos pré-colombianos com as abelhas nativas sem ferrão do gênero Melipona, interagiram fortemente (Kritsky, 2017). Essa relação, especialmente promovida pela produção de mel e cera, levou ao desenvolvimento de técnicas de criação bem como às observações sobre o funcionamento das interações de abelhas com as plantas através da idade média até os dias atuais (Rech e Westerkamp 2014). ...
Resumo: O uso humano do mel é uma atividade possivelmente tão antiga quanto a própria humanidade, figurando entre as primeiras formas de manejo que os seres humanos implementaram com a biodiversidade da qual fazem parte. Foram encontradas evidências paleontológicas do uso do mel nas civilizações egípcias e pré-colombinas e observações importantes acerca das abelhas e da produção de mel escritas por Aristóteles, um dos fundadores do que podemos chamar como pensamento ocidental, muito embora os registros orientais acerca do tema sejam inclusive ainda mais antigos. Neste trabalho revisamos as análises já publicadas acerca das relações entre seres humanos e natureza mediadas pelas práticas e criação de abelhas com especial enfoque para a apicultura, ou seja, o manejo da espécie Apis mellifera e das várias espécies sem-ferrão, nativas dos diferentes territórios, ao longo do planeta, para produção de mel, cera, própolis e outros derivados. Para isso, foi buscado na literatura, através do Portal de Periódicos CAPES, os termos "Beekeeping" AND "Environmental perception". A partir disso, selecionamos os textos centrais para o debate e os lemos integralmente. Apresentamos aqui uma síntese destas leituras com apontamentos iniciais a partir de vivências e diálogos com apicultores(as) da região do Vale do Jequitinhonha e Semiárido Mineiro. Percebemos que a apicultura pode ser uma atividade produtiva importante na mediação da relação humanidade-natureza e pode contribuir para o sentimento de pertencimento e sensibilização acerca das contribuições da natureza para as pessoas (NCP). No entanto, há que se considerar que como uma atividade econômica está sujeita a influências
... Beeswax has been widely used by humans throughout history (Kritsky 2017;Castellano et al. 2022). The palynological analysis of honeycomb and beeswax remains from archaeological contexts has provided direct evidence for ancient beekeeping practices (Kvavadze 2006;Kvavadze et al. 2007;Chichinadze and Kvavadze 2013;Roffet-Salque et al. 2015;Weinstein-Evron and Chaim 2016;Castellano et al. 2017Castellano et al. , 2022. ...
... Based on economic indicators, honey bee cultivation has proven to have high economic value. This bioproduction system has been carried out in various countries for a long time because of the large profits generated both from an economic and environmental perspective [5] [6]. The price of honey increased about 10 times over the 15 years of honey bee cultivation. ...
Stingless bee honey cultivation is one of the bioproduction systems that is predicted to have a high sustainability value. There are 3 indicators in assessing the sustainability of a system taken from the 3 main pillars of sustainability, namely economic, environmental, and social indicators. This study discusses the social sustainability of stingless bee honey cultivation through one of its elements, namely social acceptance. The research was conducted through a case study in one of the stingless bee honey cultivation sites in Sumedang Regency. The data collected is data on community characteristics and data on social acceptance regarding stingless bee honey cultivation. Community characteristics data shows that based on economic conditions, availability of human resources, and social status of the community, the practice of stingless bee cultivation has the potential to be carried out sustainably. Meanwhile, data on social acceptance related to cultivation show that public perceptions and attitudes generally support the sustainability of stingless bee cultivation, although on the other hand knowledge about the benefits of cultivation and community involvement behavior is still low. Therefore, to strengthen the social sustainability of this bioproduction system, it is necessary to introduce and provide assistance regarding cultivation practices to the community around the location.
... Beekeeping with Apis mellifera L. has been a key activity for humanity since about 3000 BCE (Kritsky, 2017), constituting a rich source of nutritious food, medicines, and raw materials for industry (Lietaer, 2009), and even attaining mythical and religious symbolism (Fernández Uriel, 1988;Bradbear, 2004). Despite its enormous cultural and economic importance, the current decline in commercial bee colonies is currently the subject of a global alert-even the highly technical beekeeping production is being affected (Dahlgreen, 2014;Andrews, 2019;Cilia, 2020). ...
The production of honey for consumption is one of humans’ most intriguing activities in biocultural terms. Studies on Local Ecological Knowledge linked to Apiculture with Apis mellifera (LEKHA) are limited, particularly in Santiago del Estero (northern Argentina). In this work, we compared the LEKHA of beekeeping families in two different landscapes that show distinct socio-ecological characteristics: “rainfed” and “irrigation.” Through semi-structured and free interviews and the construction of local calendars, together with 85% of the beekeepers of these zones, we investigated the LEKHA, honeybee flora and methods of acquisition and transmission of management knowledge and practices. Participants mentioned 96 honeybee flora species (63 in rainfed and 71 in irrigation), mainly native species, which provide with nectar and pollen. The apicultural and floral calendar was similar in these two areas, although the areas differed in the time of year certain activities were carried out and the richness and abundance of plant strata. This similarity could be related mainly to the strong cultural attachment of inhabitants to some elements of their native “Monte” landscape which, despite having undergone some anthropic modifications, remains functional for beekeeping. The LEKHA in both areas was learned idiosyncratically and by oblique transmission. We show how an activity related to the environment recreates and stimulates environmental knowledge, such that flowers, honeybees, and people form a bond of mutual care.
... İspanya'da keşfedilen ve 7000-8000 yıl öncesine dayandırılan resimlerde kayalarda asılı halde bal avcıları tasvir edilmektedir. Yine Anadolu'da yapılan kazılarda ortaya çıkan ve 9000 yıl öncesine ait olduğu düşünülen çanak çömleklerin bal mumu ile kaplı olduğu belirlenmiştir (Kritsky, 2017). ...
Dünya nüfusunun hızla artmasına paralel olarak ortaya çıkan daha fazla üretme zorunluluğu, gıda üretiminde güvenlik ve kalite gibi bazı özelliklerin göz ardı edilmesi ihtimalini doğurmuştur. Ancak zamanla beslenme bilincinin değişmesine ve gelir seviyesinin yüksek olmasına bağlı olarak bazı toplumlarda yeni talepler ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu yapı içerisinde şekillenen organik arıcılık, genel olarak ürünün organik bal dışında herhangi bir besin ve kimyasala maruz kalmadan elde edilmesi, bozulmamış ve kirleticilere karşı hassas alanlarda yetiştirilmesi, tüm aşamaların kontrol ve sertifikasyon ile denetlenmesi esasına dayanmaktadır. Arıcılıktan elde edilen gelirin artmasını sağlayan ve tüketicilerin istenilen özelliklere sahip ürünler tedarik etmesine olanak sağlayan organik arıcılık, Türkiye'de yeni bir model olarak gelişmektedir. Ancak hem doğal hem de kamusal kaynakların çok daha verimli kullanılması için bazı planların yapılması yerinde olacaktır. Bu amaçla hazırlanan bu çalışmada, ilgili mevzuat dikkate alınarak mevcut durum değerlendirilmiş, diğer yandan koloni yoğunluğunun arttığı ülkede kaynakların verimli kullanılmasına yönelik önerilerde bulunulmuştur.
... This shortcoming led human societies to develop innovative animal husbandry and management practices through the application of their knowledge of behavioural ecology which led to the parallel and independent domestication of different species of honey-producing social bees in different parts of the world 4 . While beekeeping had developed with the well-known Apis mellifera (L., 1758) in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the prevalent species in Asia was A. cerana (Fabricius, 1793) whose breeding started later in China, around 200 AD 5 . In Mesoamerica, beekeeping emerged within the Mayan civilization around 1750-2300 BP with another tribe of eusocial bees, stingless bees (Apidae, Subfamily Meliponinae). ...
Honey collection evolved from simple honey hunting to the parallel and independent domestication of different species of bees in various parts of the world. In this study, we investigate the extent to which the composition of Apis and stingless bee honeys has been a driver in the selection of different bee species for domestication in Mesoamerica (Mexico) and Asia (Thailand) using a sampling design that combines peak honey profiling by H1 NMR spectroscopy with the collection of honeys from domesticated and undomesticated bee species. Our results show that, independently of the region of the world considered, domesticated stingless bees produce honey whose compositional profiles differ from those of the non-domesticated species and exhibit more similarities towards honeys produced by the domesticated Apis species. Our results provide evidence for the first time that the search for natural sweeteners in the environment by our ancestors led to the parallel and independent domestication of social bees producing honeys with similar compositional profiles.
... In addition to archaeological, ethnological and pictorial sources, countless other urbaria and accounting books, especially from monasteries, convents, hospitals, parishes and dioceses, which certainly had an increased need for wax, offer rich source material. Further material, especially for the Tyrolean region, also features notarial instruments and registers of their imbreviatures, customs regulations, the so called Weistümer and Traditionsbücher, inventories and wills, provisioning lists and regulations, supply contracts, food orders and stocktaking, private household books, administrative and normative documents of various kinds, diaries and chronicles, dietary and medical texts, as well as cookbooks and the so-called Kunstbücher, which contain recipes for different aspects of daily life (Kritsky 2017: ...
Summary: The chapter is an outline or first conclusion of a more extensive study on the history of honey and wax in medieval Tyrol. It discusses references to the production or importation of bee products in Tyrolean land registers (urbaria) and account books. The relevant literature on medieval food history argues that honey was widely used in the Middle Ages as a substitute for high-priced sugar. The small and limited area of Tyrol never really appears, because current research is mainly of a more general character. It remains unclear to what extent these studies can be applied to the situation in Tyrol. A specific investigation of the conditions in Tyrol, which occupies a special position due to political, climatic, geographical and cultural conditions, is therefore necessary. The chapter investigates whether and under what circumstances honey was produced in Tyrol or whether honey and wax were bought from outside.
... Many view systematic harvesting of immature honey followed by industrial moisture reduction as not complying with the Codex definition, since the honey is not matured by bees in the hive. [23][24][25] Others point to the nomadic lifestyle of Chinese beekeepers [26][27][28] and the high humidity of Asia necessitating periodic collection of immature honey for aggregation and moisture removal, to prevent fermentation. There are ongoing discussions on these issues 29 . ...
The composition of honey, a complex natural product, challenges analytical methods attempting to determine its authenticity particularly in the face of sophisticated adulteration. Of the advanced analytical techniques available, only isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) is generally accepted for its reproducibility and ability to detect certain added sugars, with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) being subject to stakeholder differences of opinion. Herein, recent reviews of honey adulteration and the techniques to detect it are summarised in the light of which analytical reports are examined that underpinned a media article in late 2020 alleging foreign sugars in UK retailers’ own brand honeys. The requirement for multiple analytical techniques leads to complex reports from which it is difficult to draw an overarching and unequivocal authenticity opinion. Thus arose two questions. (1) Is it acceptable to report an adverse interpretation without exhibiting all the supporting data? (2) How may a valid overarching authenticity opinion be derived from a large partially conflicting dataset?
... The first reason of why both exegetes gave more in-depth regarding bees are probably because the verses themselves provided specific detail about bees. The second reason is honey from bees has been used by human since long time ago where the oldest evidence of beeswax has been detected as old as near 9000 years (Kritsky, 2017). Therefore, it is very possible that Ibn Kathir has experienced with honey bees to know the hexagonal shape of honeycomb. ...
Insects are very well studied organism regarding their role in the ecosystem either as prey, predator, parasitic, or decomposer. They also play important role in fulfilling human needs such as bee providing honey or becoming pollinator for some fruits. Some insects are already mentioned in the Quran such as bees, ants, flies, mosquitoes, locusts, and weevil beetles. Therefore, this study is made to analyse the interpretations of insects in two exegeses in order to see how much facts can be extracted regarding the topic of insects in Quran. For this study, Tafsir Quran al-A'zim by Ibn Kathir and Tafsir al-Azhari by Hamka are chosen as reference for the interpretations. Based on both exegeses, some verses gave a detailed explanation of the insect's role such as the interpretation of bees, locusts, and qummal. Some insects are mentioned as metaphorical value such as flies to show the complexity of Allah's creation. Both exegeses gave the same interpretation for some insects but Hamka have more interpretation as a contemporary scholar regarding the scientific value. This shows that Quran is filled with scientific knowledge especially if the interpretation is from the contemporary exegesis.
... True beekeeping began in Egypt before 2450 BC and spread throughout Europe over 2000 years. In medieval Europe, honey became an essential commodity for trading (Kritsky, 2017). Simultaneously, beekeeping accessories, namely beehives, beehive panels, and other beekeeping tools, also flowed into the world during the great age of navigation. ...
PurposeTo improve the working efficiency of beekeepers, a multi-functional beekeeping loading box based on an electric tracked transport vehicle was developed for beehive panels and beehive transportation in the apiary.Methods
First, study parameters such as scale and demand of the apiary were obtained using an on-site survey to select a modified LNS-T500 electric tracked vehicle as the design substrate. The dimensions of the modified loading box were designed after modeling the beehive panels and beehives using SolidWorks 3D modeling and analysis software. After determining the internal design of the beehive panels perpendicular to the direction of transport, statics simulation analysis was conducted to analyze the stresses, deformations, and safety factors of the loading box to verify its safety performance.ResultsWhen the loading box was used to transport beehive panels of different weights, the maximum stress (3.361 MPa) occurred uniformly in the upper part of the middle demolition plate, which was less than the allowable stress of the material (620.4 MPa), while the maximum displacement (1.102 × 10−2 mm) occurred in the lower part of the middle demolition plate. The minimum value of the safety factor was 171. When the loading box was used to transport beehives or other tools, the maximum stress (394 MPa) occurred in the upper part of the middle demolition plate, which was less than the allowable stress of the material, and the maximum displacement (3.432 mm) occurred in the middle part of the bottom plate. The minimum value of the safety factor was 1.575.Conclusion
The special beekeeping transport vehicle in this study can be used to safely and stably transport beehive panels, beehives, and other tools in the apiary, markedly improving the working efficiency of beekeepers.
... Pinturas rupestres con antigüedad de 7,000 a 8,000 años muestran a cazadores de miel suspendidos en escaleras de cuerda, mientras cosechan miel de panales de abejas silvestres. Sin embargo, es hasta los años 3,000 antes de nuestra era que aparecen los primeros indicios de la apicultura, con construcciones de cavidades artificiales dentro de las cuales las abejas pueden construir su panal (Kritsky 2017). Además de la miel, las abejas elaboran otros productos naturales: polen (pan de abeja), jalea real, propóleos, cera y veneno; todos ellos químicamente diferentes y con un potencial terapéutico muy versátil. ...
El propóleos, junto con la miel, la jalea real, la cera y el veneno de abejas, es considerado uno de los productos de colmena que ha generado gran interés por sus propiedades farmacológicas. El propóleos es una sustancia resinosa, elaborada por las abejas a partir de exudados, resinas y látex secretados por las hojas y brotes de plantas. Es una matriz biológica muy compleja, en la que se ha detectado la presencia de más de 500 sustancias químicas diferentes. Posee diversas propiedades biológicas, entre las cuales destaca su efecto anti-cancerígeno. Este artículo describe de una forma resumida los distintos productos de las abejas, poniendo énfasis en el propóleos y su composición química. Posteriormente, en el contexto de la biología del cáncer, se discuten los sucesos moleculares que subyacen el efecto anti-cancerígeno del propóleos, identificando las principales moléculas involucradas. Se describe la capacidad del propóleos de inhibir la proliferación, la progresión del ciclo celular y migración de células cancerígenas, así como de inducir apoptosis y suprimir la angiogénesis. El propóleos constituye una matriz biológica muy atractiva para el aislamiento de compuestos con actividad anti-cancerígena, que solos, o en conjunto, pudieran representar una alternativa para la elaboración de terapias contra el cáncer.
... Early examples of an influence of bee management on human architectural design practices resides in the stone-and-gravel domed huts typical of Celtic Kit S. Prendergast et al. / Art & Perception (2021) dwellings from 2000 BCE in Scotland and Ireland (Cagle, 2007). Referred to as clocháns, and more commonly 'Beehive houses', as they visually resemble the ancient straw skep beehives ( Fig. 11a; Kritsky, 2017), these mortarless structures were erected to serve a functional purpose and primarily employed as domestic dwellings for monks among Christian settlements of the time (Cagle, 2007;Curl and Wilson, 2015). Construction of the domes followed a systematic procedure where individual stones are arranged on a circular plan, and each successive layer is placed marginally inward over the course below to form a hemispheric (hive-like) structure (Curl andWilson, 2015, Cagle, 2007). ...
The field of bioaesthetics seeks to understand how modern humans may have first developed art appreciation and is informed by considering a broad range of fields including painting, sculpture, music and the built environment. In recent times there has been a diverse range of art and communication media representing bees, and such work is often linked to growing concerns about potential bee declines due to a variety of factors including natural habitat fragmentation, climate change, and pesticide use in agriculture. We take a broad view of human art representations of bees to ask if the current interest in artistic representations of bees is evidenced throughout history, and in different regions of the world prior to globalisation. We observe from the earliest records of human representations in cave art over 8,000 years old through to ancient Egyptian carvings of bees and hieroglyphics, that humans have had a long-term relationship with bees especially due to the benefits of honey, wax, and crop pollination. The relationship between humans and bees frequently links to religious and spiritual representations in different parts of the world from Australia to Europe, South America and Asia. Art mediums have frequently included the visual and musical, thus showing evidence of being deeply rooted in how different people around the world perceive and relate to bees in nature through creative practice. In modern times, artistic representations extend to installation arts, mixed-media, and the moving image. Through the examination of the diverse inclusion of bees in human culture and art, we show that there are links between the functional benefits of associating with bees, including sourcing sweet-tasting nutritious food that could have acted, we suggest, to condition positive responses in the brain, leading to the development of an aesthetic appreciation of work representing bees.
... Since Hogue's landmark review, the Annual Review of Entomology has published articles on several topics that Hogue would identify as relevant to cultural entomology (24, 56,63), but few reviews of cultural entomology, ethnoentomology, or entomology's connections or relevance to the arts have been published anywhere since. We consciously or unwittingly forge connections with insects in every aspect of our existence, and reporting how insects affect human culture could have important implications for peoples' appreciation of insects, for invertebrate conservation, and for diversifying who practices the science of entomology. ...
Every facet of human culture is in some way affected by our abundant, diverse insect neighbors. Our relationship with insects has been on display throughout the history of art, sometimes explicitly but frequently in inconspicuous ways. This is because artists can depict insects overtly, but they can also allude to insects conceptually or use insect products in a purely utilitarian manner. Insects themselves can serve as art media, and artists have explored or exploited insects for their products (silk, wax, honey, propolis, carmine, shellac, nest material), body parts (e.g., wings), and whole bodies (dead, alive, individually, or as collectives). This review surveys insects and their products used as media in the visual arts and considers the untapped potential for artistic exploration of media derived from insects. The history, value, and ethics of insect media art are relevant topics at a time when the natural world is at unprecedented risk.
http://www.annualreviews.org/eprint/WK2DDQ5Z83WIFEEVUY6X/full/10.1146/annurev-ento-020821-060803
Insects are among the most abundant organisms on the planet. Together with arachnids and other invertebrates, they form the biological basis of all agricultural production and ecosystems cannot thrive without them. The global decline of insect populations and the spread of certain disease vectors to new areas reflect how bugs are affected by and entangled in the threatening and debated global environmental changes often referred to as the Anthropocene. Despite a growing awareness of their role in the survival of the living world and human culture, insects and arachnids are often popularly considered in terms of social, cultural and economic factors. They have been judged as either good or bad, useful or harmful, beautiful or disgusting. And while bugs of all kinds have preceded, co-evolved with and lived alongside humans, influencing social and historical developments as co-agents, human relationships with them have remained rather under-researched in the humanities and social sciences. However, global problems such as the loss of biodiversity cannot be solved by science alone. They are related to human behavior, which is guided by social and cultural values and conventions, as well as political and religious ideas. We therefore need deeper and more nuanced insights into human encounters with bugs.
Background: Mating control is a crucial aspect of honeybee breeding. Instrumental insemination of queens gives the breeder maximum control over the genetic origin of the involved drones. However, in addition to the drones' descent, the breeder's control also extends over the number of drones to use for inseminations. Thus far, this aspect has largely been ignored in attempts to optimize honeybee breeding schemes. The literature provides some comparisons between single drone inseminations (SDI) and multi drone inseminations (MDI) but it is unclear whether the number of drones used in MDI is a relevant parameter for the optimization of honeybee breeding programs.
Methods: By computer simulations, we investigated the effect of the number of drones per inseminated queen in breeding programs that relied on best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) breeding values. We covered a range of 1 to 50 drones per queen and observed the developments of genetic gain and inbreeding over a period of 20 years. Hereby, we focused on insemination schemes that take the drones for one queen from a single colony.
Results: SDI strategies led to 5.46% to 14.19% higher genetic gain than MDI at the cost of 6.1% to 30.2% higher inbreeding rates. The number of drones used in MDI settings had only a negligible impact on the results. There was a slight tendency that more drones lead to lower genetic gain and lower inbreeding rates but whenever more than five drones were used for inseminations, no significant differences could be observed.
Conclusion: The opportunities to optimize breeding schemes via the number of drones used in inseminations are very limited. SDI can be a viable strategy in situations where breeders are interested in genetically homogeneous offspring or precise pedigree information. However, such strategies have to account for the fact that the semen from a single drone is insufficient to fill a queen's spermatheca, whence SDI queens will not build full-strength colonies. When deciding for MDI, breeders should focus on collecting enough semen for a succesful insemination, regardless of how many drones they need for this purpose.
Apiterapi, başta arı zehiri olmak üzere bal arısı ürünlerinin kullanımıyla yüzyıllardır birçok insanın şifa edindiği ve sıklıkla başvurulan bir integratif tedavi yöntemidir. Arı zehiri, insan vücuduna manuel enjeksiyonla, topikal olarak veya doğrudan arı sokmasıyla uygulanabilmektedir. Arı zehiri başta enflamatuvar hastalıklar olmak üzere nörodejeneratif hastalıklar ve romatoid artrit gibi kas-iskelet sistemi rahatsızlıklarının tedavisinde yüksek biyoterapötik potansiyel barındıran peptitler ve enzimler gibi çeşitli biyoaktif moleküller içermektedir. Literatürdeki birçok çalışma, arı zehiri bileşenlerinin biyolojik aktivitelerini tanımlamış ve apitoksin ile bileşenlerinin yeni nesil ilaçlar olarak potansiyel kullanımını geliştirmek etrafında şekillenmiş durumdadır. Bu derlemenin amacı, arı zehirinin toplanmasını, ana bileşenlerini, temel biyolojik özelliklerini ve terapötik uygulamalarını özetlemektir.
This chapter provides an introduction to invertebrates, outlining the major taxonomic groupings that will feature in the remainder of the book. It is noted that most animal species on our planet are, in fact, invertebrates. A detailed review of all the major direct impacts of humans on invertebrates is also provided. Humans kill a very large number of invertebrates every year in a diverse range of contexts. Invertebrates are used as food, feed, material products, in medical and scientific research, and are directly killed in vast numbers in ‘pest’ control operations. If we take seriously the agenda of zemiologists, non-speciesist green criminologists, and those in the effective altruism movement, then the magnitude of the harm inflicted on invertebrates can be considered one of the most important justice issues of our time.
Honey is a natural sweetener that is rich in various bioactive compounds. These compounds are believed to contribute to the health benefits. Phenolic compounds are a diverse group of naturally occurring plant metabolites that are found in honey. These compounds are known for their antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties, which protect against many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Minerals are also present in honey, although the levels and types of minerals can vary depending on the type of honey and the geographic location where it is produced. Some of the minerals commonly found in honey include iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. These minerals are essential for various bodily functions, including nerve function, immune function, muscle contraction, energy metabolism, and bone health. It is important to note that while honey may have potential health benefits, it should be consumed in moderation due to its high sugar content. Additionally, not all honey is created equal, and the phenolic and mineral content can vary depending on the source and production methods. It is recommended to choose raw, unprocessed honey from a reputable source to ensure the highest quality and potential health benefits.
The present study has been undertaken to assess the entrepreneurial potentials, scopes, and opportunities of beekeeping in Kavassery village, Erattakulm Taluk in Palakkad district from July 2022 to March 2023. Thus, a sample of 40 respondents from Palakkad district was selected using a pretested interview schedule. This paper mainly focused on beekeeping entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship skills, and the need for beekeeping entrepreneurship development in Palakkad along with the major reason for promoting beekeeping entrepreneurship development in the district. This study gave a real existing scenario of problems and prospects of beekeeping entrepreneurship in the Alathur region. Beyond improving beekeepers' pragmatic knowledge through training, and establishing beekeeper associations, entrepreneurship, and institutional, policy measures are needed to enhance this sector's performance. Finally, the ultimate issue underlying the study is to provide some initiatives to building beekeeping entrepreneurship for expanding the honey market, conserving biodiversity, and finally getting livelihood enhancement among the rural masses.
In Africa, humans evolved as honey hunters of honey bee subspecies adapted to diverse geographical regions. Beekeeping today is practiced much as it was when Africans moved from honey hunting to beekeeping nearly 5,000 years ago, with beekeepers relying on seasonally available wild bees. Research suggests that populations are resilient, able to resist diseases and novel parasites. Distinct biomes, as well as environmental pressures, shaped the behavior and biology of these bees and in turn influenced how indigenous beekeeping developed. It appears that passive beekeeping practices that enabled free-living populations contributed to the overall resilience and health of the bee. There is clearly a need for research aimed at a deeper understanding of bee biology and the ecosystems from which they benefit and on which humans depend, as well as a growing realization that the management of these bees requires an indigenous approach that reflects a broader knowledge base and the economics of local communities and markets.
Nowadays, natural foods that can provide positive health effects are gaining more and more popularity. Bees and the products they produce are our common natural heritage that should be developed. In the article, we presented the characteristics of bee products and their use in industry. We described the development and importance of beekeeping in the modern world. Due to their high nutritional value and therapeutic properties, bee products are of great interest and their consumption is constantly growing. The basis for the use of bee products in human nutrition is their properties and unique chemical composition. The conducted research and opinions confirm the beneficial effect of bee products on health. The current consumer awareness of the positive impact of food having a pro-health effect on health and well-being affects the increase in interest and demand for this type of food among various social groups. Enriching the daily diet with bee products may support the functioning of the organism. New technologies have appeared on the market to improve the process of obtaining bee products. The use of bee products plays a large role in many industries; moreover, the consumption of bee products and promotion of their medicinal properties are very important in shaping proper eating habits.
When most people think of bees, they imagine a fluffy bumble bee or a light-colored
honey bee. This is the beauty of imagination; it can be both necessarily simple to create quick reference labels, or magnificently complex to devise an entire apparatus around rules that separate categorical distinctions. Biologists, for example, see bees through the collective base of eukaryote cells, up a phylogenetic tree that represents evolutionary relationships and distinctions between organisms. Even with these universalizing tools, some biologists see certain kinds of bees more than others. This leads me to wonder about the ways our scientific institutions and collective interests can combine to form sociotechnological visions of the labels they create. While honey bees have been shaped by human sustenance cultivations for at least 9,000 years (Kritsky 2017, 250), the European honey bee was globally introduced through colonial pursuits, hegemonizing the way alterity is discussed in the context of bee species. In other words, the colonial conquest with European honey bees largely influenced the way all bees are imagined and prioritized today. The nomenclature “honey bee” does not exclusively refer to European descent. However, this paper focuses on how defenses of European identity-making emerge through sociobiological claims in the lives of bees. In this essay, I discuss European honey bees as a site for technological design, disparate interests, and environmental imagination. My analysis operates between frameworks of science, technology, and society (STS) studies and political ecology. I apply these frameworks to environmental conflict in Malta’s beekeeping practices. This paper begins by first situating the European honey bee as a label and vehicle for scientific pursuit and apicultural development. I then argue that the ways people make use of apiculture reflects institutional power relationships within social apparatuses. I follow this discussion with an argument that European honey bees can be viewed as an interface for environmental subject-making; a locus for aggregate truths couched within the ideas of sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff et al. 2015) and environmentality (Agrawal 2005). The “truths” of European honey bees is aggregate because disparate interests combine to create multiple realities, multiple labels, wherein friction between knowledge and classification coexist through conflict over what type of environmental subject honey bees are according to separate truths and their intentions. For application, I provide an ethnographic example of a beekeeping conflict in Malta—which I refer to as the Queens of Inferno—to demonstrate the utility of theorizing technological design, disparate interests, and environmental imagination. I argue that honey bees are an interface created by, managed for, and maintained as environmentally political subjects.
Celem artykułu jest ukazanie kształtowania się wolumenu i wartości produkcji miodu naturalnego, jego importu i eksportu oraz cen w Polsce na tle sytuacji w pozostałych krajach w Unii Europejskiej w latach 2000-2020 oraz w porównaniu do zmian zachodzących na świecie. W opracowaniu wykorzystano wtórne źródła informacji pochodzące głownie z bazy danych FAOSTAT 2022. Produkcja miodu zarówno w Polsce, jak i w krajach UE i na świecie charakteryzowała się w analizowanym okresie tendencją wzrostową. Największym producentem miodu są Chiny, które dostarczają na rynek co czwarty kilogram produktu, podczas gdy UE około 13%. W pierwszej trzydziestce największych producentów miodu naturalnego jest 11 państw z Europy, w tym 9 z UE - na czwartej pozycji jest Polska. Samowystarczalność wspólnoty w zakresie miodu wynosi jedynie 60%, dlatego Ilościowo i wartościowo dynamicznie zwiększały się obroty handlu zagranicznego miodem. Ogółem w UE saldo handlowe miodem było ujemne. Zmieniła się struktura eksportu i importu miodu z i do UE, co jest wynikiem z jednej strony czynników losowych tj. pandemia Covid-19, agresja Rosji na Ukrainę a także ekonomicznych, demograficznych, społecznych i środowiskowych.
Global declines in populations of several bee species have highlighted the importance of efforts to conserve bees and other pollinators. Because research on the social dimensions of pollinator conservation is limited, however, developing clear strategies to promote conservation behaviors remains a challenge. In an effort to contribute to understanding of these social dimensions of conservation, we used semantic network analysis and content coding to investigate knowledge and understanding of bees among U.S. college students with either a low (n = 233) or high (n = 93) interest in this topic. Results revealed that both groups' understanding of bees was organized around their utilitarian value for humans, particularly honey production. Furthermore, although student knowledge of bees was fairly accurate, it was not very sophisticated. Knowledge about honey bees was also more accurate than knowledge about bees in general. Implications for future conservation and education efforts are discussed. Global declines in populations of several bee species have highlighted the importance of efforts to conserve bees and other pollinators, but developing clear strategies to promote conservation behaviors remains a challenge. In an effort to contribute to understanding of these social dimensions of conservation, we used semantic network analysis and content coding to investigate knowledge and understanding of bees among U.S. college students with either a low (n = 233) or high (n = 93) interest in this topic. Results revealed that both groups’ understanding of bees was organized around their utilitarian value for humans, particularly honey production, suggesting that messages connecting to these concepts may facilitate future conservation efforts.
The most investigated aspect of the use of invertebrates in the past is their role in human diets. Much of the archaeological research has focused on detailing the composition of shell middens and in developing new methods to study mollusc remains, both through zooarchaeological approaches and bio‐geochemical applications. In the last 20 years, there has been a substantial increase in studies of the evolution of human dietary adaptations, with marine molluscs singled out as important resources from marine biomes. Biomolecular and other analytical methods are making it possible to characterize many natural products of invertebrates with a high degree of precision, although much of this research is in the early stages of development, especially of the requisite background proof of concept studies, and with a limited, but growing, range of applications. The chapter covers a diversity of invertebrate products, such as fibres, dyes, lipids, and products used as medicines, hallucinogens, poisons, or for ritual purposes.
Honey collection evolved from sheer honey hunting to the parallel and independent domestication of different species of bees in various parts of the world. In this study, we investigate the extent to which the compositional convergence in Apis and stingless bee honeys has driven independently the domestication of different bee species in Mesoamerica, (Mexico) and Eurasia (Thailand) by using a sampling design that combines state-of-the-art honey profiling using H1 NMR spectroscopy with the collection of honeys from both domesticated and non-domesticated bee species. Our results show that, irrespective of the region of the world considered, domesticated stingless bees produce honey whose compositional profiles converge with those of the domesticated Apis species . Our results provide evidence for the first time that the search for natural sweeteners in the environment by our ancestors led to the parallel and independent domestication of social bees producing honeys with convergent compositional profile.
This article reconstructs where, when and how Celtic speakers adopted beekeeping on the basis of the Celtic apicultural vocabulary. Following a short introduction giving the archaeological and historical background of beekeeping, it is argued that Celtic inherited a lexicon for bee produce from Proto-Indo-European (PIE), but not for bees or beehives. The various external sources and internal derivations for the remaining words in the apicultural lexicon are then employed to reconstruct in what periods and from what sources Celtic speakers adopted beekeeping. This reconstruction demonstrates that bee domestication by IE speakers postdates PIE. A European lexicon can be reconstructed for bees, drones and hollow beehives, implying that sylvestrian beekeeping was adopted by IE speakers soon after their migration into Europe. A Proto-Celtic (PC) layer relating to swarming suggests that PC speakers achieved more intimate knowledge of beekeeping, while words for beehives are of even later date, suggesting continued innovation in hive-building techniques after the break-up of Celtic.
Writing is a social practice, and as such is fundamentally entwined with a wide array of other forms of human activity, professional categories and aspects of cultural life. However, this is often not fully reflected in scholarly approaches to writing practices, which tend to focus almost exclusively on the act of inscription itself, and on the practices of literates alone. Taking as its case study the Late Bronze Age Syrian polity of Ugarit and focusing on the social and cultural aspects of the procurement of raw materials for writing, this article aims to explore some of the ways in which groups of people beyond the urban, literate elite facilitated, contributed to and shaped the nature of writing practices.
Ecosystems provide a number of free services, especially provisioning services, on which humans depend for survival. All food comes from ecosystems; often ecosystems manipulated for crop or timber production. Fresh water also is a product of ecosystems, along with numerous medical and industrial products. In addition, ecosystems provide cultural services, such as recreational, religious, and educational uses. Supporting and regulatory services include processes, such as pollination, decomposition, and biological control, that contribute to production and delivery of harvestable resources. Insects often have been vilified as threats to human health and food production but also are important sources of food, water, medical and industrial products, cultural values, and inspiration for technological advances. An important challenge for resource and pest management professionals is how to manage pests without threatening the sustainability of ecosystem services.
Ethical approaches rooted in care are distinct and important contributors to ethical discussions surrounding animals. Recently, however, concern has been raised that practices of care can facilitate the instrumentalization of animal life in a way that is antithetical to an ethical relationship toward animals. This article explores this debate through a discussion of contemporary apiculture (beekeeping) practices. This analysis reveals that the practices of care that constitute contemporary apiculture are the very same practices that have facilitated the instrumentalization of the honeybee. This suggests that accounts of care ethics regarding animal life need to be complicated and that care ethicists need to be more attuned to the ways in which care can become complicit in the practices they would seek to oppose.
p>In antiquity bees and honey had a very special significance. Honey was indeed considered to drip from heaven as the food of the gods. As an infant Zeus was fed on honey in the cave of Dicte, by bees and the beautiful Melissa, whose name became the Greek word for “bee”. When the ancient Romans wished you luck they said “May honey drip on you!” and for the Israelites Palestine was a “land of milk and honey” (Forbes 1957:85-87). In his Georgics Vergil likened the inhabitants of the new Golden Age to an orderly swarm of bees (Johnson 1980:90-105), and the word “honeymoon” probably derived from the ancient custom of newlyweds to drink mead (honey-wine) for a month after their wedding (Hajar 2002:5-6). Allsop and Miller state that even today honey is popularly associated with warmth, nostalgia, goodness and flattery (1996:513-520).
In this study the origins of apiculture (bee-keeping) and the status and uses of honey in antiquity are analysed – with emphasis on its assumed value as a health promoting agent.</p
The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of ancient Egyptian bee iconography dating to the Old Kingdom (approximately 2400 BC). There are also indications of Stone Age people harvesting bee products; for example, honey hunting is
interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and
a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and
where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect’s biochemistry. Thus, the chemical ‘fingerprint’ of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were
exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.
Stingless bees, like the honey bees of the genus Apis, live with many individuals in a nest where honey and pollen are stored. Although the amounts of honey are generally smaller than in the nests of honey bees, people have used stingless bee honey for many centuries. Comparatively little attention has been given to these bees in beekeeping development programmes. It is now realized that stingless bees are important resources for the production of a special type of honey and other products. A limiting factor in the production of stingless bee honey is the way in which domesticated colonies are housed. Because of the specific biology and the fundamentally different nest architecture, the technology developed for apiculture with A mellifera and A cerana does not apply to stingless beekeeping.
Structure 99, located on top of a large platform occupies a major and prominent part of the North Group complex of the Maya site of Nakum situated in the north-eastern area of Guatemala. Archaeological excavations realized in this structure during a few field seasons have revealed interesting data about the very last moment of Nakum’s development during the Terminal Classic period (AD 800-900/950). It also revealed important traces of architectural and ritual activities from the still enigmatic Protoclassic phase (c. 100 BC-AD 300). Scattered ceramics, stone tools and human bones found on top of Structure 99 - associated with the final hours of its occupation as well as Protoclassic offerings discovered in the lowest layers of this construction, including intriguing clay heads and jade pendants - are evidence of important ceremonial activities and beliefs that everything in the world is alive. By caching or destroying artifacts within the building, it is symbolically animated or killed by the Maya. This paper presents the results of the most important research conducted in Structure 99 that contributes to our knowledge on the ritual and architectural activities of two crucial periods in the history of Nakum: the Protoclassic and Terminal Classic. Among numerous findings described in this article, there is one that merits special attention. It is a cylindrical ceramic artifact lately identified as a beehive, providing a new perspective on beekeeping by the ancient Maya. The artifact is dated to the Protoclassic phase and is one of the oldest beehives discovered in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
This paper presents a set of pottery beehives from the pre-Roman Iberian peninsula, dating from the third century BC, and all coming from a single region known in antiquity as Edetania. These beehives are closely related to similar examples from Greece and to a type described by Roman authors such as Coiumella. It is the first such archaeological material that can be associated with apiculture in this area.
Ceramic beehives are known to have been utilized in ancient Greece. Excavations by the University of Chicago at Isthmia have produced many fragments with an interior combed surface characteristic of this special vessel. In addition to four almost complete beehives of horizontal type, four restored hives and a number of fragments of an upright style of hive from the Sanctuary of Poseidon and the Rachi settlement are published here. They provide the first substantial evidence for the existence of the upright hive in ancient Greece.
Constantine Lau obtained his MSc for his work on honey bee communication. He then started his teaching career while working as a Visiting-Lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and developed a great interest in the history of Chinese apiculture. He is currently teaching Biology at the Tsung Tsin Christian Academy in Hong Kong.
This paper discusses the presence of a ceramic vessel type in archaeological assemblages of the Mamluk and Ottoman periods in Palestine, the function of which has not been elicited. Similar vessels are documented in the rural Arab agriculture of Palestine as beehives. The identification of their function adds another element to our understanding of the economy and material culture of these periods in Palestine.
Stingless bees, like the honey bees of the genus Apis, live with many individuals in a nest where honey and pollen are stored. Although the amounts of honey are generally smaller than in the nests of honey bees, people have used stingless bee honey for many centuries. Comparatively little attention has been given to these bees in beekeeping development programmes. It is now realized that stingless bees are important resources for the production of a special type of honey and other products. A limiting factor in the production of stingless bee honey is the way in which domesticated colonies are housed. Because of the specific biology and the fundamentally different nest architecture, the technology developed for apiculture with A, mellifera and A, cerana does not apply to stingless beekeeping.
All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World covers the widest definition of “medieval Europe” possible, not by covering history in the traditional, textbook manner of listing wars, leaders, and significant historic events, but by presenting detailed alphabetical entries that describe the artifacts of medieval Europe. By examining the hidden material culture and by presenting information about topics that few books cover—pottery, locks and keys, shoes, weaving looms, barrels, toys, pets, ink, kitchen utensils, and much more—readers get invaluable insights into the nature of life during that time period and area.
The ancient Mayan civilization of southern Mexico and northern Central America has long been described as “mysterious,” even though scholars have been studying this culture for hundreds of years. Our view of the Maya has changed dramatically based on the various findings of these scholars; what were once thought of as “vacant ceremonial centers,” inhabited by only a few calendar priests and used as places of ritual by the surrounding peasant farmers, have now been redefined as ancient thriving cities of thousands of Maya. Hierogliphic inscriptions, once thought to be astrological mumbo-jumbo, now read as names of historical individuals and the cities they ruled. The Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World provides a comprehensive and accessible reference to the greatest and most mysterious of civilizations, hailed for its contributions to science, mathematics, and technology. The book focuses on recent groundbreaking discoveries while presenting the civilization’s earlist beginnings to its conquest by the Spanish in the 16th Century. Each chapter is supplemented by an extensive bibliography as well as photographs. original line drawings, and maps. Different sections include civilization and archaeology, evolution, geography, society and government, astronomy and the calendar, funerary beliefs and customs, and many more
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96996/1/UMURJ-Issue07_2010-DMImre.pdf
Ceramic beehives are known to have been utilized in ancient Greece. Excavations by the University of Chicago at Isthmia have produced many fragments with an interior combed surface characteristic of this special vessel. In addition to four almost complete beehives of horizontal type, four restored hives and a number of fragments of an upright style of hive from the Sanctuary of Poseidon and the Rachi settlement are published here. They provide the first substantial evidence for the existence of the upright hive in ancient Greece.
The author of this paper was Secretary of the University of London School of Slavonic and East European Studies from 1932 to 1960. She has applied the knowledge and working methods she learned there, to a study of contemporary historical sources which throw light on Russian beekeeping in the Middle Ages and earlier. This study has just been published (pages 49, 98). Miss Galton recently moved to Norfolk, and there she became interested in the activities of the port of Kings Lynn in mediaeval times. Her interest was heightened when she found evidence of a direct link with Russian beekeeping. Some of the beeswax which she had traced from its production in Russian forests to the wax traders in Novgorod had apparently been imported into England at Lynn. The details presented in this article throw new light on the extensive European trade in beeswax in the Middle Ages.
Stingless bees are social insects that have existed for over 100 million years. They are found in tropical and subtropical zones around the world. Until the introduction to the Americas of the honey bee, Apis mellifera, stingless bees were the main source of cerumen and honey and therefore played a significant role in native civilisations. Large quantities of stingless bee honey and wax had to be given in tributes to the Spanish conquerors and were shipped to Europe in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Honey bees later provided a much bigger return for the effort of management. These are bees of high valuation since ancient time and expanding legacy of cultural expressions. Local names of stingless bees are included in songs, poems, and novels. Resurgence of interest in pot-honey would give economic boost to meliponiculture, promote research of their putative medicinal attributes, and ensure the conservation of stingless bees.
Ukraine is both an old country and a new country. For a large part of the 20th Century it was subsumed under the gigantic umbrella of the USSR. In 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved, Ukraine gained its independence. Starting again has not been without its troubles and the country has attracted a great deal of international attention. This year attention of a different sort, from a special group, will focus on Kyiv as bee scientists and beekeepers from all over the world gather for the XLIII Apimondia Congress.
In the warm temperate zone of the Old World, wall hives as well as free-standing hives have been widely used for Apis mellifera and A. cerana. Dr Eva Crane explores their distribution and the beekeeping done with them.
The archaeological evidence for human consumption of honey in China dates back to the seventh millennium BCE, while the earliest reference to beekeeping is in a third century CE biography of a reclusive scholar who kept bees during the mid-second century. Based mainly upon previously untranslated Chinese sources, this paper traces the development of beekeeping in China from the second century up until shortly before modern beekeeping methods were introduced to China at the turn of the twentieth century. It discusses the nature of the source material, before exploring the methods used by Chinese beekeepers to try to increase production, control swarming, maintain colonies over winter, and harvest honey, as well as their understanding of bee behavior in relation to the "governance" of the colony and honey production.
1. CRITERIA FOR THE ACCEPTABILITY OF EVIDENCE: The existence of beekeeping in a region is often adduced from writings which show that the people were acquainted with bees, and with the honey and beeswax harvested from them. Grave goods suggesting the presence of honey or mead have been similarly interpreted. But this is not sufficient evidence that bees were kept in hives: man obtained honey by raiding wild nests of bees in hollow trees and rocks from very early times (Crane, 1975, 1983), and it is likely that, in any culture where honeybees existed, people experienced the sweetness of honey from wild nests long before they kept bees in hives.
Ceramic beehives are frequently identified on archaeological sites in Greece and occur in large numbers. Their existence is at odds with the accounts of Roman authors, who disdain the use of clay for beekeeping and praise materials like wicker and wood, which have left no archaeological traces. The reason for the rejection of terracotta hives is unanimously that they are too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer, but temperature experiments with a nineteenth century ceramic beehive in Greece proved them to be within the norms experienced by bees. The results of this research thus indicate different traditions of beekeeping in Roman Greece and Italy and seek to explain why these may have developed.
Nearly ninety years ago students of Attic topography recorded the remains of an ancient house set on one of the southernmost ridges of the Hymettus range, a short distance below a cave sanctuary of Pan and not very far from the village of Vari in south-west Attica. The surface traces suggested an isolated country house, well planned and well built; it offered an instructive comparison with the Dema House near Ano Liosia in north-western Attica and this encouraged the excavators of the latter site to investigate further. Work on the southern site has now added another example, a noteworthy and fairly well-preserved example, to the short list of ancient Attic country houses known, explored, and published. For lack of a convenient topographical name we propose to call this site the Vari Cave House, or for brevity's sake in this report, the Vari House.
university of central florida What goes inside a Maya building is just as significant in determining its function as a building’s architectural plan and external appearance. Structures are not alike in their contents. Some hold interments and caches; some contain earlier buildings; others are single or multiple construction efforts with no contents other than fill. Artifacts are found littered on the floors of some buildings, whereas other buildings are found completely clean. Careful consideration of the overall context of Maya architecture, in terms of both its siting and contents, leads to many questions about the associations of architecture and archaeological materials. For example, is there a correlation of ritual offerings with new construction? Do caches, burials, or “termination” rituals ref lect the “dedication ” of a new building, the final use of the previous construction, or something else altogether? Are changes in a building’s function apparent archaeologically in the final treatment of a given structure? Which buildings contain ritual deposits and which do not? And what other determining factors are there besides structure form and location? Almost by definition, many architectural forms and contents imply specific functions. Function may be manifest in the physical layout or iconographic decoration of a given building, or it may be revealed by associated ritual activity and deposits. Although the concept of temple as funerary construction is simplistic in that some temples bear multiple interments, and others contain no interments at all, certain buildings did apparently function as ancestral shrines and were used repeatedly for both interments and ritual offerings. In this con-
Exhuming and treating wastes may not always be the most effective way to remediate a site. In some cases, in-place disposal with a protective cap offers the best protection for human health and the environment. This is especially true of Department of Energy (DOE) sites where radioactive wastes may be better left undisturbed. Yet in-place disposal requires a protective covering that can guarantee isolation of the wastes for centuries. No proven long-term barrier currently exists. Engineers and scientists at the Department of Energy's Hanford site in Washington believe they have developed a maintenance-free waste-site surface barrier, made from natural materials, that will last for 1,000 years. They are ready to monitor a 5 acre prototype, recently constructed over a decommissioned wastewater-disposal facility. If it performs as expected, this cap could have significant impact on waste-disposal systems nationwide.
The first fossil honey bee (Apini: Apis Linnaeus) from the New World is described and figured, expanding the former native range of the tribe Apini into the Western Hemisphere. Apis nearctica sp. nov., is represented by a single female worker pre-served in paper shale from the Middle Miocene of Stewart Valley, Nevada. The species belongs to the armbrusteri species group (= Cascapis Engel) and is most sim-ilar to the extinct species A. armbrusteri Zeuner from the Miocene of southwestern Germany. The species is described and its affinities discussed, as well as its implica-tions for our understanding of honey bee and corbiculate bee biogeography and evo-lution.
Research over the past decade has significantly advanced our understanding of the prehispanic Maya codices, both in terms of their content (i.e., hieroglyphic texts, calendrical structure, and iconography) as well as the physical documents themselves (where and when they were painted, and by whom). Recent avenues of exploration include a new emphasis on linguistic and textual analyzes; novel methodologies for interpreting calendrical structure; and comparisons with other manuscript traditions, in particular those from highland central Mexico. As a result of these studies, researchers have found that some codical almanacs functioned as real-time instruments to document important astronomical events; others were used to schedule rituals as part of the 52-year calendar that guided civic and religious life in Mesoamerica during the Late Postclassic period (circa A.D. 1250 to 1520). Evidence of connections with central Mexico, documented in terms of interchange among codical scribes, suggests the need for a more thorough exploration of Maya-highland Mexican interaction during this time period.