Bees and Beekeeping

By Tiffany Francis-Baker

Bees existed long before human beings, but our future is perhaps more reliant upon them than any other species. They pollinate 80 per cent of the world's crops and plants, but how much do we really know about them? Small, clever and mysterious, the honeybee in particular has long been celebrated in human culture as a sacred insect, a symbol of the sun, bridging the gap between our world and the next. They are expert communicators, skilled aviators and natural alchemists, turning fresh nectar into sweet, golden honey. They are also in trouble and need our help. This beautifully illustrated guide explores the honeybee's historic relationship with humans, the basics of beekeeping, and how we can help save the bees' dwindling population.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Apr 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781784424466

Tiffany Francis-Baker

Tiffany Francis is an award-winning writer, artist and environmentalist from the South Downs in Hampshire. With a mixed background in the arts, rural heritage and conservation, her work is fuelled by a love for the natural world and a passion for protecting it. She writes and illustrates for national publications and has appeared on BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4. Her books include Food You Can Forage, the Concise Foraging Guide, Bees and Beekeeping and Dark Skies. In 2023, The British Horse Society presented Tiffany with the Elwyn Hartley-Edwards Award for her work in promoting the enjoyment of equestrianism and raising awareness of BHS campaigns and wider issues within the equine industry in The Bridleway. www.tiffanyfrancisbaker.com

Book preview

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE HONEYBEE AND ITS COLONY

THE FIRST BEEKEEPERS

THE EVOLUTION OF BEEKEEPING

BEEKEEPING HERITAGE

BEES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

HONEYBEE PRODUCE

FURTHER READING

PLACES TO VISIT

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A honeybee gathers nectar from the spring blossoms.

INTRODUCTION

H

ONEYBEES HOLD A

special place in many people’s hearts. A species which is ancient, intelligent and mysterious, bees can be seen as mediators between humans and the rest of the natural world. They are independent and free, yet they embrace the homes we provide for them and even allow us to ‘keep’ them. The symbiotic relationship between bees and beekeepers has been nurtured for thousands of years. In many ancient cultures the bee was a symbol of power and nobility, a precious creature to care for in exchange for sweet, golden honey. Today, our love of the honeybee is undiminished and perhaps even intensified by the global threats that the species is facing of intensive farming, pesticides, disease and habitat loss. Now, more than ever, we need to rediscover the appreciation and admiration so many of us feel for honeybees, and recognise the role they can play in the future of our planet.

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A worker bee tends to the comb where new grubs are starting to emerge.

THE HONEYBEE AND ITS COLONY

T

HE MODERN HONEYBEE

comes from one of the most ancient species on the planet, which appeared at least 50 million years ago. Its ancestors, the first bees on Earth, came into being around 130 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the world and humans were not yet in existence. At this time, there were very few flowers on Earth, and seed dispersal by the wind was an inefficient path to reproduction. As a solution, winged insects gradually evolved to feed on the nutritious pollen; as they moved from flower to flower, they scattered pollen grains and began to pollinate the plants. This new relationship changed the Earth’s entire ecosystem. It became an advantage to the plants to attract bees, which led to flowers that were bigger, brighter, more colourful and more richly scented. They also began to produce nectar, a sugar-rich reward for insects like bees and butterflies.

The first bees evolved from wasps, which stocked their nests with the bodies of other insects in order to feed their young. At some point, a few of these wasps began to stock their nests with protein-rich pollen instead of insects, and through the process of natural selection, the first bees began to evolve. Biologists are unsure exactly when this happened as insect fossils are rare, but some ancient bee species have been found trapped in tree resin, fossilised into amber, which was able to be extracted and analysed. The oldest-known amber bee is around 80 million years old and from an advanced social species that lived in vast colonies; so many scientists believe the earliest bees evolved long before this.

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Honeybees have evolved alongside plants over millions of years in order to pollinate the Earth’s flowers.

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The first bees evolved from wasps, which stocked their nests with the bodies of other insects in order to feed their young.

These early species of bee were almost certainly solitary bees, just like the majority of the species still found today. As a general rule, present-day solitary bees, such as carder, mining and leafcutter bees, live alone and build their nests in small holes in the ground. They will then lay their eggs, seal the nests up and leave their young to develop on their own. Most