Bee history

When you take a gander at a bee, you may wonder; what does it do? Well, a bee is an insect that would be the middle of a wasp and an ant. The western honey bee is most used to represent a bee, though there are many species. So when beekeeping took off many thousands of years ago, it originally was just taking honey from trees. Now you may ask yourself “Grant, you’re dumb, beekeeping obviously only started maybe in the 1800s,” and you’re not wrong. The first real beekeeping took off in the 1500s and would eventually become what we would know as beekeeping.

In a small little cave in Spain, a painting was found of a person climbing a tree to collect something while dots surround it. This was depicted to be a man climbing a tree to collect honey from a beehive. Though, we will never fully understand this as the man probably lived to be like 20 or something. But nonetheless, this is the first ever real evidence to collecting honey.

Our next piece of proof has to be Egyptians. It is told that bees were used to produce honey and beeswax. It is unclear as to how they collected honey and bees, but researchers have said that they (like the big tough beekeepers they are), grabbed bees and just took their honey. It’s quite an impressive move.

We’re going to skip ahead towards the 1500s, where beekeeping takes off. Now, bees are harvested from a box where they have set up their hives (sometimes) which required delicate care that many people didn’t invest in. It was during this time that Spain would introduce bees to South America. During the 1500s, beekeeping became “modernized” for the age. Beekeeping equipment became more popular, as people would now use bee-suits and gloves, though the modern bee mask you think off wouldn’t come around until the 1800s.

Before we dive off into the 1800s, when the first Americans brought the Eastern Europe Honeybee or now known as the Western Honeybee, they were initially used for the production of honey and bee-related products. So, even if I were to eat every bee in America beefore 1784, the American colonists would still be able to produce fruits and vegetables due to other pollinators existing at the time.

Now, why do I, a bee-eater support bees? Well, it’s quite simple actually, without bees there is no joy in the world. No black and yellow, no bee puns. Without bees in the world, many things we see in our day-to-day lives seem empty and are boring. Before you smite another bee with a thunderclap, here is a list of a few things to think about; should I kill this bee? What will happen if I kill this bee? Would the Grant Sheffer, the one and only, approve of my actions? By saving a bee or two, so think of your actions before you do so.

During the 1800s, the first practical, yes the first ever hive to not require the destruction of the beehive would be invented. Johann Dzierzon, a Polish beekeeper, wanted to make a better hive because breaking it could destroy the bee’s home. During the 1800s, another beehive would be invented. This time, with a title. The “WBC beehive”. This would continue use until today with a lot of major bee farms practice more healthy versions of beekeeping.

Today, it isn’t uncommon to use “natural beekeeping” on a farm. This type of beekeeping can greatly increase the production of honey and prolong the life of bees on the farm. There’s also plenty of technology being put to use for bee farms and every day we continue to adapt and reform beekeeping as we know it.

I’ve interviewed many people, but Logan Brille’s stuck out to me the most. Logan Brille describes bees as “beautiful and amazing”, yet he doesn’t eat them because they’re endangered. Bees don’t follow the laws of physics and mean they’re pretty smart. They’re shaped and colored perfectly. Though he doesn’t like the fact that they’re not around all year. Logan Brille is a pretty smart guy and his answer is pretty cool. But at the end of the day, it’s the bees that matter. Food is produced by these guys quicker than ever and though they are criticized for being an invader species, these guys have big hearts to help us out.

Bonus fact: did you know bees can’t see the color red?