Apiculture, commonly known as beekeeping, is the practice of maintaining colonies of honey bees in man-made hives. The history of this practice dates back thousands of years, with evidence found in ancient Egypt around 3,100 BCE. The primary species managed globally is the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, which is highly valued for its honey production and docile nature. Beekeeping provides a controlled environment for these complex colonies, allowing for the harvest of hive products and the provision of pollination services.
The Essential Tools and Structures
Modern beekeeping relies on the Langstroth hive, a modular system designed around the concept of “bee space,” a gap of roughly 6.4 to 9.5 millimeters. This dimension prevents the bees from sealing the gap with propolis or building excess honeycomb, ensuring all internal components remain movable. The hive is a vertical stack of boxes, known as supers, which contain frames where the bees build their wax comb. Deep supers are typically used for the brood chamber where the queen lays eggs, while shallower supers are stacked above for honey storage.
The ability to easily remove and inspect individual frames is the major advantage of the Langstroth design. Apiarists use a smoker, which introduces cool smoke into the hive to calm the bees by masking their alarm pheromones and encouraging them to gorge on honey. A specialized hive tool is necessary, serving as a small pry bar to separate frames and supers that the bees have glued together with propolis. Protective clothing, including veils and specialized suits, helps minimize the risk of stings during inspections and manipulations.
The Primary Products of Beekeeping
The most recognized output of apiculture is honey, a sweet, viscous substance produced by bees from floral nectar. Worker bees collect the nectar and mix it with enzymes before depositing it into the comb cells, where excess water is evaporated. Honey is primarily composed of the simple sugars fructose and glucose, which the bees store as their food source.
Beeswax is a structural product secreted from glands on the worker bee’s abdomen. This wax, chemically composed of long-chain fatty acid esters, is used to construct the hexagonal cells of the honeycomb. Harvested beeswax is used for candle making, cosmetic formulations, and as a polishing agent.
Propolis is a resinous mixture collected by bees from tree buds and sap flows. Bees combine these plant resins with beeswax and salivary enzymes to seal small gaps and crevices within the hive. Propolis provides an antimicrobial barrier, helping to protect the colony from pathogens and decay.
Apiarists may also collect bee pollen and royal jelly, though these products are harvested in smaller quantities. Bee pollen serves as the colony’s main source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Royal jelly is a milky white, protein-rich secretion produced by worker bees to feed the queen bee for her entire life.
The Role of Managed Pollination
Beyond the physical products harvested from the hive, apiculture provides the service of managed pollination for commercial agriculture. This involves beekeepers transporting their colonies to fields of monoculture crops during their bloom periods. The practice is necessary because many large-scale farming operations lack sufficient native pollinators to ensure a successful harvest.
The economic value of this service is substantial, with estimates placing the annual contribution of commercial beekeeping to US agriculture in the billions of dollars. Certain crops, such as almonds, are almost entirely dependent on managed honey bee pollination for their production. Other crops, including blueberries, apples, and various seed crops, rely heavily on this seasonal movement of hives to maximize yield and quality.
This industrial-scale service differs significantly from natural pollination, which occurs through the actions of wild insects, birds, and wind. Commercial beekeepers provide a dense population of pollinators at the exact time and location required by the farming schedule. Without the ability to rent colonies, the production of more than 39 different crops would see a decline.