The History of Beekeeping

Historically, bees have been of interest to man for over 5,000 years mainly for the honey which they produce. It was the only natural sweetener available before the advent of commercially produced sugars from cane and beet.

Originally and still today in parts of the world it was the wild bees nests which were raided for the honey they contained. I suppose that we should call all honey bees wild since they take advantage of suitable enclosures to use as a nest. These may be a hollow tree, some form of log hive, or the more common hive now used by the modern beekeeper. Since in all cases the bees are free to come and go as they please and man removes surplus honey they are all wild but they are a managed wild creature.


Before the advent of the modern movable frame hive bees were kept in straw skeps. The space available to the bees was limited so they regularly swarmed (a natural method of colony reproduction) which served to replace the colonies which were killed to obtain the honey. The space for the bees could be enlarged by adding an extra chamber called an eke (hence the term to eke something out) and to protect the hive from the weather a straw hackle was added. This was roughly a cone shaped device to deflect the rain. Sayings such as "to eke out" and "raising the hackles" have passed into common usage.

Honey bees were maintained by religious communities in monasteries mainly for the wax they produced. From this beeswax candles were produced; these were far superior to the candles made from tallow used by the general population. A welcome addition was the honey as a sweetener and when the honey was mixed with water and allowed to ferment it produced mead, and is the probable origins of the term "merry monk". No doubt the alcohol in the mead helped stave off the cold on long dark medieval winters.

Honey bees gave sweetness and light.

There are many instances of bees and honey being referred to in the Bible and the following are just a few samples:-

Pleasant words are as an honey comb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones. Proverbs XVI Verse 24
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste. so shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. Proverbs XXIV Vs 13 & 14

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. Psalm 19 Verses & 10.

The Children of Israel went into Canaan, a land "flowing with milk and honey" indicating it's richness. Then there is the riddle posed by Samson in Judges 14 Verses 8-14. "Out of the eater something to eat, out of the strong something sweet." NIV version. Finally, not wishing to bore you, from the Authorised version "And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them." Luke 24 Verse 42.