Henderson County Beekeepers Assoc January 15 2018 Prehistoric Bees 100 million years ago first known bee Melittosphex Burmensis Northern Burma 2006 14 million years ago honey bees in North America ID: 684844
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "The History of Beekeeping" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
The History of Beekeeping
Henderson County Beekeepers Assoc.
January 15, 2018Slide2
Prehistoric Bees
100 million years ago, first known bee,
Melittosphex
Burmensis
: Northern Burma, 2006.
14 million years ago, honey bees in North America, Apis Nearctica, Nevada, 2009.
1 million years ago, first evidence of Apis Mellifera.
Melittosphex
BurmensisSlide3
“Bee” C
13,000 B.C. – Cave drawings indicate human interaction with bees.
5,000 B.C. – Cave drawings evidence human “honey hunters” in Eastern Spain.
2,400 B.C. – Egypt, earliest evidence of bees being “kept.”
Chinese, Greeks, Mayans, etc.Slide4
Medieval Beekeeping
“If there is a need to move (the hive), it must be done gently and during the night; the hives should be wrapped in skins; they should be set in place before dawn. When it is done in this way the combs will not be damaged and the creatures will not be injured.”
Geoponika
, circa. 1000 A.D.
In the Middle Ages many farms and monasteries kept bees.Slide5
Moving to the New World
1622 – Honey bee colonies shipped from England to Virginia.
By the mid 1700’s honey bees were found throughout the East and Southeast.
By the 1850’s honey bees made it to the West coast.Slide6
The Honey Harvest – Pre 1850
Hives were kept in hollow logs or
skeps
.
If the colony outgrew the skep, an extra chamber called an
eke would be added to the bottom.
At harvest time the skeps were broken open to collect honey and wax. The bees were destroyed.Slide7
The Father of Modern Beekeeping
Reverend Lorenzo L.
Langstroth
, Philadelphia, PA, circa 1858.
Rev. Lorenzo
Langstroth
, (1810-1895).Invented “bee space?”
Developed the modern movable comb hive.Slide8
Langstroth
beehive advertisement, circa 1858.Slide9
Advantages of the
Langstroth
Hive
Allows easy hive inspection without enraging the bees.
Weak colonies can be strengthened.
Space can be added to strong colonies.
Queens can be easily found and replaced.
Diseases, pests and parasites quickly identified and remedied.Honey can be extracted without destroying the comb and killing the hive.Slide10
The Modern HiveSlide11
Beekeeping Today –
The Keepers
1,400 commercial beekeepers in the United States.
Over 200,000 “hobbyists.”
13,000 in North Carolina with over 100,000 hives.Slide12
Beekeeping Today –
The Products
Pollination.
Wax.
Honey.
Propolis
, and others. Slide13
Beekeeping Today –
The Stuff
Protective clothing.
Smokers.
Hive tools.
Pest and parasite control.
Extractors.
Epi Pens.Slide14
The Future of Beekeeping?
Harvard scientists have a vision: to build a tiny robot that can fly, work together in groups, and even pollinate flowers like a honeybee.
Science FridaySlide15
HAPPY BEEKEEPING!!!