When talking about bee hives and raw honey people regularly think of having to scale a tree to get them. This is often not true as many professional bee keepers have popped up around the world and have their hives at ground zero. This makes extracting honey from the hive easier, and safer. There is however still the chance of getting stung, but at least you do not have to fret about breaking your neck.
Bee hives have been the first source of raw honey since the beginning of recorded history. Archeologists have found cave paintings of folk climbing trees to get honey out of postponed hives in various locations. History does not let us know when we started training bees but we do know that we were actively practicing it around 2400 BC. Historical proof shows that early bee keepers used logs, pottery, and even baskets for bee's to build their colonies in and raise young.
Early beekeepers had to use crude systems of getting honey from bee colonies that they tended. In most situations, they suppressed the bees with smoke then broke into the hive and ripped out the honeycombs. These were then mashed up and the honey was mixed with the larval eggs, the material of the honeycomb itself, and then crudely strained. This worked in getting the honey but wiped out the hive completely.
luckily ,
bee hives have evolved considerably since those times and extracting the raw honey does not harm the colony. Modern bee farmers use slide out hives that have a comb like structure that can simply be emptied, and then replaced. This ensures the bee colony will be safe, and can produce more honey later. Honey that is's cropped is then run thru a complicated system of filters to be sure it's clean, and safe for consumption.
until the 18th century, we did not actually know much about bees. What we did know revolved around superstition, folklore, and old wives tales. Scientists at the time had had enough of this and started actively dissecting and analyzing bee hives, bees, and the raw honey they produced. This laid the foundation for what we all know about bees today.
Insect behavior is sort of sophisticated, even though it appears simple. Bees communicate with body language, pheromones, and sometimes a mix of the two. This can cause some engaging activity if you've a colony with a glass window. People have been observing bees and other insects like this for years and it never fails to fascinate the curious mind.
Not only do bees produce honey, but they're essential to the ecosystem of our planet. These sometimes-tiny insects can pollinate loads of flowers in a day. These flowers then support a myriad of other insect and animal life that makes up our food chain. Even the smallest of bugs can have a unbeatable impact on our planet.
at the moment,
bee hives are still the only source of raw honey we have. Sure, you can attempt to imitate it with synthetic flavours but nothing comes near to the real thing. Honey is an essential component of breakfasts across the globe and many start their day with it. It also has many medical properties that make it keenly sought after.
