THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF BEEKEEPING The History of Beekeeping The history of beekeeping…
🌐 Original language: Turkish
📰 Source: aricilikgazetesi.com.tr
- The History of Beekeeping
The history of beekeeping dates back to tens of thousands of years ago when humans lived in caves. Cave paintings from around 7000 BC, ancient bee fossils, and similar historical findings confirm this view. Early humans naturally benefited from the honey of bees that nested in tree hollows and rock crevices by killing the offspring.
Throughout historical development, from the Stone Age onwards, first mushrooms and tree trunks were used as hives, followed by containers made of earth and clay, which eventually evolved into the hives used today. True beekeeping began when humans took some honey from bees nesting in tree hollows without killing them and left some honey for the bees. Since the genetic center of bees is in the Middle Eastern countries, the emergence of beekeeping occurred in these regions. Additionally, the mention of bees in stone inscriptions from Boğazköy, believed to date back to around 1300 BC during the Hittite period, indicates that beekeeping has ancient roots in Anatolia as well. - The Development of Beekeeping
Until a few centuries ago, beekeeping was practiced in a primitive manner for a very long time, but it has undergone a developmental process leading to modern beekeeping in light of many scientific discoveries and advancements. Key milestones in the evolution of modern beekeeping include the discovery in 1787 that the queen bee mates in the air, the explanation of bee reproductive biology in 1845, the invention of the framed scientific hive in 1851, the discovery of foundation wax molds in 1857, the invention of the honey extractor in 1865, the discovery of queen rearing techniques using larval transfer in 1882, and the invention of artificial insemination in queen bees in 1926. - Technical Beekeeping
Technical beekeeping can be described as "The Art of Utilizing and Managing Bees" for a specific purpose. Knowledge and experience are essential for technical beekeeping. Otherwise, it is impossible to practice technical beekeeping, or even ordinary beekeeping, without knowledge and experience. Before starting beekeeping, one must be knowledgeable about the bee family (colony), its members, and the colony's living arrangements, as well as other related topics.
Beekeeping conducted without adequate knowledge and experience will result in failure, rather than economic gain. When starting beekeeping, the area for beekeeping should be well chosen, and the region's vegetation and climate must be suitable for beekeeping. - Beekeeping Around the World
Today, beekeeping is one of the most widespread agricultural activities conducted worldwide. Currently, there are about 56 million bee hives globally, producing approximately 1.2 million tons of honey. About one-fourth of the honey produced is traded, and 90% of the exports come from around 20 honey-producing countries. China is the country with the highest number of hives (65 million) and honey production (211,000 tons).
The average global honey production per hive is around 20 kg, while this figure is 33 kg in China, 40 kg in Argentina, 27 kg in Mexico, 64 kg in Canada, 55 kg in Australia, 40 kg in Hungary, and 16 kg in Turkey. These countries are also among the world's largest honey exporters. The countries that import the most honey include Germany, the USA, Japan, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, France, Austria, and other European countries. Germany alone imports more honey than Turkey's total honey production.
In addition to honey, bee products such as propolis, royal jelly, pollen, and beeswax are also part of global trade. Furthermore, in developed agricultural countries, beekeeping is practiced not only for the production of bee products but also, more importantly, to increase the quantity and quality of plant production. For example, in the USA, producers in plant production pay beekeepers $41 million in bee rentals to ensure pollination in the crops they produce, while they earn $3.2 billion from the contributions of bees to their production. Another study conducted in the USA found that about one-third of the total product value of $30 billion obtained from around 40 plant species, which amounts to $10 billion, is attributed to honey bees.
Moreover, bee products such as honey, propolis, bee venom, and royal jelly are used in many countries in "Apitherapy," which means "Treatment with Bee Products." Additionally, beekeeping is one of the rare agricultural activities that can be conducted without harming nature and the environment. In this respect, beekeeping will be one of the most important sustainable agricultural activities of the future. For the reasons explained above, beekeeping continues to be an indispensable agricultural activity worldwide. - Beekeeping in Turkey
In Turkey, beekeeping has been a socio-economic activity practiced as a tradition for many years. With approximately 4 million hives and around 63,000 tons of honey production, Turkey ranks 3rd and 4th in the world, making it one of the most important countries in terms of both hive numbers and honey production. However, despite this significant development, the average honey production per hive in our country is around 16 kg, which is below the global average of 20 kg. Furthermore, Turkey ranks 10th in the world honey trade with a 1.87% share, which does not align with the number of hives and honey production. Considering both our share in the global honey trade and our honey production per colony, it becomes evident that we are not fully utilizing the existing beekeeping potential of our country. On the other hand, the production of other bee products besides honey and the use of honey bees for adequate pollination in plant production are not widespread in our country. It is clear that if we increase honey production per hive, produce other bee products, and utilize honey bees more widely in plant production, we will better evaluate our existing potential. However, the fact that the transition from primitive and transitional hives to modern hives has largely been completed and that there has been a slight increase in average honey production per colony can be considered positive developments for our beekeeping.
Due to Turkey's ecological and socio-economic structure, beekeeping can be practiced throughout the country, with the Aegean, Black Sea, and Mediterranean Regions being the most important areas for beekeeping in terms of both hive numbers and production share. Approximately half of Turkey's honey production occurs in these three regions. The top ten provinces in terms of honey production are Muğla, Ordu, Adana, Aydın, Sivas, Antalya, İzmir, İçel, Erzincan, and Samsun, with about half of the country's honey production coming from these provinces.
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Source: aricilikgazetesi.com.tr
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