In ancient times, bees and beehives also played a central role in human spirituality. Creation myths, cosmologies, and stories associated with gods and goddesses often include bees as symbols of reverence. Ancient peoples projected the community and continuance of bee colonies onto human societies. And the sweetness of bee honey, for ancient people, represented magic and healing.

Bees were primarily associated with females, particularly goddesses. The Minoan culture of ancient Crete depicted many of its goddesses — the precursors of familiar Greek deities — with bee-like stripes, wings, and antennae. The Minoans raised bees, and beehives and beekeeping figure prominently in engravings depicting the common life of this period. The ancient Egyptians depicted many of their goddesses similarly, and bees figure prominently in Egyptian mythology and place naming. In one myth, the Sun God, Ra, cried tears that became the first honey bees, providing the Egyptians with sweet honey. King Menes, one the earliest of the pharaohs (who ruled about 3,000 BC) and unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt, was known as “The Beekeeper,” and his residence in Lower Egypt was referred to as the “Place of the Bee.”

Dionysus — the Greek god of the harvest and wine (known to the Romans as Bacchus) — was credited with founding the practice of beekeeping. According to myth, swarms of bees, hitherto unknown, clustered around Dionysus, attracted by the noise being made by his satyrs. The god collected the bees and put them in a hollow tree, where they soon began producing honey. Dionysus was also the inspiration behind the “Dionysian Mysteries,” rituals in which participants used intoxicants to shed themselves of inhibitions and social constraints, allowing themselves to return to a natural state. Mead, a wine mixed with honey and beeswax, was a common potion at these “bacchanalia.” The practice persists, in modified forms and not necessarily in deference to Dionysus, to the present day.

Pythia, the “Oracle of Delphi,” was the priestess at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and was famous for the prophesies that she revealed, inspired by Apollo. From generation to generation, new priestesses were chosen from among a guild of priestesses resident at the temple; each was granted the title “Pythia” in turn. The tradition was established in the eighth century BC and endured for more than a millennium until nearly the fifth century AD, when the Roman Emperor Theodosius I ordered all pagan temples in his empire to cease operations. Tradition holds that oracles were revealed by swarms of bees, and Pythia and lesser priestesses at the temple were referred to as “Delphic Bees.”

The most prominent Greek goddess affiliated with bees is Artemis (known to Romans as Diana), the goddess of nature and the hunt. Artemis oversaw the territory of wild bees. A great temple to Artemis was built at Ephesus and was counted among the Seven Wonders of the World; “Ephesus” has been translated as “place of bees,” and the priestesses at Ephesus were referred to as “Melissae,” or “bees.” Several depictions of Artemis render her with the head of a woman but the body of a bee. The role of bees in pollination was well known to the Greeks, and this suited Artemis’s role as overseer of the harvest and of abundance.

Roman civilization inherited the Greek gods, but not always the finer points of Greek culture. Romans continued to drink honey wine (mead), but in quantities that might today be considered borderline alcoholic. Roman bacchanalia may have resembled modern-day fraternity parties (toga parties?) more than the “return to nature” gatherings favored by the Greeks. As for bees, the Romans were known for catapulting beehives filled with bees onto enemy armies, to the point that bee populations on the Italian peninsula dwindled precariously — a purely manmade instance of colony collapse disorder.

Mayan culture included a bee god called Ah Muzen Cab, a masculine rather than feminine figure. His temple was at Tulum, on the Yucatán Peninsula; he played a role in the Mayan creation myth, and honey — in a psychoactive form — was used in his worship. Present-day Mayan shamans still induce trances and perform healing ceremonies by humming in the manner of bees.

In Europe, the centrality of bees and beekeeping in spiritual tradition is nowhere more evident than in Lithuania, one of the last European cultures to shed pagan practices and adopt Christianity. Bees were considered sacred by early Lithuanians, and could not be bought or sold. When bees swarmed, beekeeping families would often leave their homes and follow the swarms, building new homes wherever the bees decided to establish new hives. This form of kinship was regarded as a special grace or protection that had been bestowed on the family, in the form of a bee-blessing.

The Lithuanian bee goddess is called Austeja, still a common name for Lithuanian girls. The Lithuanian Museum of Ancient Beekeeping, near the town of Stripeikiai in the northeastern part of the country, is a popular highlight. There is a beautiful display of beehives intricately sculpted out of hollow tree trunks; some of these sculpted hives pay homage to traditional Lithuanian gods and goddesses. The importance of bees and beekeeping to Lithuanian culture is recognized throughout Europe; in 2005, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko presented Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus with three beehives filled with bees, which were brought to the museum.

Given the importance of bees to ecosystems and food chains around the world, there’s little wonder that bees played such a central role in pagan mythologies, and in the spiritual lives of ancient peoples. Bees don’t play the same role in monotheistic systems, which tend to give humans, and only humans, a supreme position.

The startling losses and the lack of full understanding of the phenomenon have led many to reach almost apocalyptic conclusions. Honey bees, bumblebees, and other species of bees are a fundamental link in the food chain, in that they pollinate a wide range of food crops. Without pollination by bees, how would these crops be propagated? Many crops have already suffered from bee shortages, and in some parts of rural China that have endured bee depopulations, villagers are resorting to pollination by human hand. Is there enough time to develop alternative pollination methods? Or, given how rapidly bee populations have declined in just a few short years, is it already too late?

Honey bee populations have always been unstable; since humans began methodically recording the movements and fluctuations of bee populations, there have been several instances of large-scale losses. The first published record of a CCD-like phenomenon dates back to 1869, when an anonymous author reported bees abandoning apparently healthy hives that were stocked with honey — a symptom of CCD that is widely noted today. These losses, which took place in Kentucky and Tennessee, were attributed to a lack of pollen, poisoned honey, and an extraordinarily hot summer.

In Colorado in the early 1890s, likewise, many colonies were reported to have inexplicably dwindled from thousands of healthy bees to just small clusters surrounding their queens. Because these losses took place during the month of May, it was referred to as “May Disease.” Investigators eventually identified various strains of fungi that may have led to the collapsed colonies. In particular, the fungus Aspergillus flavus, which causes stonebrood in honey bees, was identified. Stonebrood is a fungal apian disease that affects both bee larvae and adult bees; the larvae become mummified into solid, noncrushable corpses (thus the term “stonebrood”), whereas infected adults either fly or crawl some distance from the hive before dying. Needless to say, an outbreak of stonebrood can be devastating to a bee population.

Three successive epidemics between 1905 and 1919 virtually wiped out the bee population on the Isle of Wight, in the United Kingdom. Some 90 percent of the bees on the island died. No exact cause has ever been pinpointed, but researchers have suggested acarine disease, tracheal mites, the nosema fungus, and starvation. Beekeepers on the island simply blamed their losses on the “Isle of Wight disease”; beekeepers in subsequent years, in other parts of the world, have sometimes referred to this so-called disease to account for otherwise inexplicable losses.

In Stawell District, near Melbourne in Australia, in 1910, nearly 60 percent of bee colonies were lost, and many more severely weakened. Reports from that time indicate that similar losses had occurred in the district dating back to the 1870s. It was suggested that honey made from the nectar of a particular local flowering plant was too high in moisture and could not be adequately thickened into proper honey by the bees; the subsequent watery honey fermented and proved toxic to the bees.

Meanwhile, a few years later, large-scale losses of bees were reported across North America, from Portland (Oregon), California, and Florida in 1915, to New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and various parts of Canada two years later. In the 1917 cases, an overabundance of pollen was noted; bees were found dead in front of their hives. These losses were tagged the “disappearing disease” by beekeepers at the time.

More recently, in the 1960s, there were severe losses of bees in Texas and Louisiana. Severe weather patterns along the Rio Grande River may have caused stress for some bee populations. In Louisiana, dwindling bee colonies were tested and found free of many common diseases; researchers concluded that the losses were genetically based. Surviving bees were healthy, and had plenty of food to boot. “Disappearing syndrome” in Australia in 1975, and “disappearing disease” in Mexico during the same year, were attributed to environmental conditions: dampness, poor nutrition, and other factors. The 1975 losses spread to 27 states in the United States; various possible causes were ruled out, and the losses remain a mystery.

As the science of beekeeping developed, continuing fluctuations in bee populations throughout the United States in the late 1970s, and again in the mid-1990s, became harder and harder to explain. It was easier to rule out causes than it was to positively identify them. Pathogens, an excess of food, a lack of food, environment factors, genetic factors, and poor bee management were all named as possible causes. A similar situation developed in France at the turn of the 21st century; various diseases were identified, but no specific combinations of diseases seemed more likely than others to have caused the devastating losses, so the blame fell on hive mismanagement and an increasingly toxic environment.

Likewise, with colony collapse disorder today, there are dozens of possible causes, perhaps working in tandem, or perhaps not. We don’t really know, and we may never know. In each of the past instances, bee populations have recovered, beekeepers have resumed profitable businesses, and our food crops have not suffered excessively from lack of pollination. The situation today is perhaps different because it is more widespread, but better reporting and stronger communication among beekeeping communities worldwide may simply have brought greater visibility to the phenomenon. In any case, it’s likely that this crisis will pass, just as have all the others.

One possible cause is malnutrition among bee colonies. In many surveys, beekeepers report a period of �extraordinary stress� in a colony prior to that colony dying off, possibly attributable to poor nutrition. Some blame the exclusive feeding of high-fructose corn syrup produced from genetically modified corn to bee colonies as a supplement to their winter stores of honey and pollen, arguing that genetically modified foods may not provide adequate nutrition. Others point to the practice of providing bees with a monoculture diet, as opposed to a varied diet. Often, bees are fed a single food during the winter (such as corn syrup), and these same bees then pollinate only a single crop during the summer months (such as almonds or cherries). A 2010 study found that bees who pollinated a variety of plant species tended to have healthier immune systems than bees limited to a single plant species. This loss of diversity, affiliated with the large-scale farming operations prevalent today, is harmful to bees� nutritional health.

Various pathogens are also identified as possible causes of CCD. Most often cited is the varroa mite, which infects bees with deformed wing virus, Israel acute paralysis virus, and other deadly viruses. These mites also tend to weaken bees� immune systems, leaving bees susceptible to other diseases. A great many hives that have died off in the past five years have been infested with varroa mites, though not all dying colonies contain these mites, so varroa mites are likely one among several causes of CCD.

Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder

Because mites, and the viruses they carry, can be transferred from bee to bee and from hive to hive, mite infestations might be considered a sort of �contagious� disease, spreading among bee colonies. Whenever a bee colony dies, for whatever reason, nearby healthy colonies of bees will often enter the dying hive and make use of existing provisions there. If these healthy colonies in turn become sick and begin dying, that would suggest that the healthy colony �caught� the virus from contaminated provisions in the colony that they robbed. However, it has also been observed that CCD can spread among hives without newly infected colonies having robbed infected hives. More research into the relationship between mites, viruses, and the spread of CCD is needed. In any event, beekeepers can safely reuse hives and other equipment from colonies that have died off only if they first treat the empty hive with DNA-destroying radiation.

Another possible culprit is a unicellular parasite called nosema; in its dormant stage, this fungus lives as a spore that is resistant to temperature extremes, dehydration, and even freezing. Nosema has been a known killer of honey bees since well before 2006, when CCD was first identified, so if the fungus plays any role in CCD, it is likely in combination with other stress factors.

Pesticides — specifically, insecticides — are another possible cause of CCD. Several studies have been done and, although there are often no common environmental factors among unrelated outbreaks of CCD, bee colony losses were not being reported at all at organic beekeeping operations. A 2010 survey found nearly 100 different pesticides, in significant amounts, in samples of bee pollen. The survey concluded that the presence of these pesticides in the recorded amounts was sufficient to compromise the physical fitness of the bees, but not enough to kill them. As with the pathogens, further study is needed regarding how pesticides might work together with other stress factors to cause a bee colony to die off.

Some beekeeping practices may be responsible for weakening bee colonies. Many beekeepers make greater profits from migratory beekeeping than they do from harvesting honey and bee byproducts. In this practice, hives are rented out to farmers for short periods of time — sometimes just a few weeks — for crop pollination. Bee rental has become a critical part of agriculture in California and elsewhere in the United States; with the large-scale farming done in these areas, native pollinators are not sufficient to get the job done. However, the spread of mites, viruses, and other pathogens is facilitated when migratory bees mingle with bees who have been rented from other beekeepers, or with native bees. Additionally, the constant movement and resettlement can bring trauma upon a colony, disrupting hive routines and possibly rendering the hive less resistant to infections and other disorders.

Electromagnetic radiation is yet another possible cause of CCN that is often mentioned in online discussions and in the media. It has been established that honey bees are capable of detecting weak static and low-frequency magnetic fields, in fact using such clues in navigation. However, there is as yet no evidence that bees are affected when they fly through microwaves associated with ground-based microwave receiving stations. Some have implicated the exponential increase in cell phone usage as a factor in CCD, although again, no actual research has suggested a connection. In an April 2011 study, a researcher placed cell phones directly inside several hives and noted increased instances of worker bees �piping� — announcing a swarming or signaling a disturbance to the colony. However, such piping is normal when bees sense a potential threat to the hive and is not in itself damaging to the colony, any more than a routine fire drill would be to a busy office building.

Colony collapse disorder is a very real phenomenon, with as yet unknown long-term consequences. Likewise, the causes have not been identified with any precision. It is likely that a variety of stress factors working in tandem have combined to cause these drastic falloffs in bee populations.

Drastic reductions in bee populations are not a new phenomenon; occurrences have been documented as early as 1869. From at least 1972 to 2006, there were drastic reductions in the numbers of feral honey bees. This was generally attributed to urbanization, pesticides, and parasites such as (internal) tracheal and (external) varroa mites. Although these reductions in numbers of feral honey bees have abated, numbers of domestic honey bee colonies began declining a few decades ago — partially attributable to beekeepers going out of business or retiring. But by late 2006 and early 2007, the rate of attrition among domestic bee colonies reached alarming new proportions, with some beekeepers losing up to 90 percent of their hives. During each year from 2006 to 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture reported overall losses of honey bees of more than 30 percent; similar losses were recorded in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

These staggering losses are attributed to a number of possible causes, though the exact mechanisms have yet to be determined. Malnutrition among bee populations, pathogens, immunodeficiencies, mite infestations, and pesticides are all cited as possible causes. Sometimes, beekeepers are blamed for potentially damaging practices, such as the use of antibiotics and the long-distance transportation of beehives. The short-term hiring out of beehives to farms for just a few weeks for crop pollination purposes is an extremely common practice in the beekeeping industry, but studies examining how such constant moving actually affects the health of hives have perhaps been insufficient. The electromagnetic radiation from cell phones has even been cited as a possible cause. Given the proliferation of cell phones around the world over the past ten years, the timing would seem to coincide.

An Overview of Colony Collapse Disorder

In 2007, most commercial beekeepers cited pest infestation — both tracheal and varroa mites as well as hive beetles — as the primary cause of hive loss. During the same period, hobbyists cited starvation as the leading cause. Current thinking points to a combination of all of these factors and possibly other factors. For example, some pesticides that have been used to control varroa mite infestations have long been believed to be safe for bees, but now it has been found that these pesticides in fact impair the bees immune systems, leaving them more susceptible to viruses. The mites themselves have exactly the same deadly effect on bees — leaving them susceptible to viruses. Obviously, better ways to control mites must be employed.

Colony collapse disorder displays various symptoms. There is always a rapid loss of adult worker bees — the brood population of affected hives becomes excessive relative to the adult population. Following such a falloff of adult worker bees, there is suddenly an insufficient workforce to care for the brood, and such workforce as exists is primarily made up of young adults, not mature adults. There is almost always a queen — in the absence of an egg-laying queen bee, the hive will perish for reasons other than CCD. Affected hives will also have existing food stores that are not immediately robbed by other bees. Additionally, surviving colony members will be reluctant to consume supplementary foods provided by the beekeeper, such as sugar syrup or protein supplements.

Honey bee populations worldwide are instrumental in crop pollination; bees are responsible for the pollination of 30 percent or more of our food, either directly (by pollinating fruits, vegetables, and grains) and indirectly (by pollinating feed crops). For this reason, the dramatic declines in bee populations have been alarming. Various national and international agencies have offered suggestions for controlling certain suspected causes of CCD. For instance, beekeepers are instructed not to combine collapsing colonies with healthy colonies. Healthy bees should not have access to abandoned hives, or the equipment salvaged from abandoned hives. And, as various pesticides and even some commercial sugar syrup solutions have been found to be harmful, replacements have been suggested.

As for the hiring out and transportation of bees, some areas are recommending that farmers requiring bees for pollination use native bees instead. If there are no local honey bees, bumblebees and mason bees are just as effective at pollination; because bumblebees have hairy bodies that can trap large amounts of pollen, they can be even more effective than honey bees. And some beekeepers are attempting to develop strains of bees that are resistant to varroa mites. Russian honey bees have already become partially resistant to these deadly parasites. Bee databases have been set up in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to monitor bee populations more effectively; as new data becomes available, it is hoped that scientists will learn more about CCD, and how to reverse it.

The potential economic effects of colony collapse disorder are inestimable. The California almond crop has already been affected; almond growers rely heavily on honey bees for pollination, and there just haven’t been enough bees to do the job. Various berries, melons, and other fruits, as well as soybeans, cucumbers, and other legumes and vegetables are all at risk. Pollination can be done by other kinds of bees or even other insects on a small scale, and in the absence of transported honey bees perhaps the native bees and insects will resume their role as primary pollinators. However, there’s no way of knowing whether native pollinators will be sufficient for the commercial-scale farms that have grown over the past several decades, exclusively reliant on honey bees for pollination. As the situation evolves and new data continues to come in, new solutions will have to be found.

Renting a stall at a farmers’ market is affordable; daily rates can be as low as $25, and you can often rent on an annual basis for around $300. The markets are open at least one day a week (Saturdays are popular); if the market is open year-round, there may be a second opening day during the summer. One of the most famous farmers’ markets in the United States, Greenmarket at Union Square in the center of Manhattan, is open four days a week and attracts 60,000 people or more each day. If your apiary is within reasonable driving distance of New York City and you have lots of honey to sell, you might consider a full-time stall at this thriving market; Greenmarket organizers require you to fill out an application form, and fees vary depending on the size and specific location of your stall.

Because farmers’ market customers are knowledgeable about farm products and eager to learn more, provide lots of information at your stall. Design and produce an attractive brochure that describes your beekeeping operation, your personal interest in the occupation (how did you get started?), your philosophy and goals with regard to beekeeping, and your production methods. Include photographs, a map with directions to your apiary, and contact information. Also, have plenty of information about your specific products. If you sell bee pollen, put together another brochure describing the health benefits of this bee byproduct, even including some recipes or other tips for eating bee pollen granules.

Additionally, put little signs around your display areas pointing out the best features of your honey and other products. Prices should be well marked; customers are often suspicious of items that aren’t clearly priced. And if your labels don’t have full nutritional details, provide those too; unlike supermarket shoppers who making quick and spontaneous decisions, farmers’ market enthusiasts tend to read the nutritional information.

You can be a little loose with pricing. As mentioned, you should establish prices for all your products and mark them clearly, but if a customer purchases several items and tries to bargain, be prepared to offer a discount. Your stall and your direct interface with customers is not only an opportunity for sales: it’s a marketing tactic that over time will increase the total volume of your business. If there are other beekeepers at your market, be sure to compare prices; you don’t want to be too far off the mark, unless you are truly offering a specialty, high-value product. If you’re not getting sales, your prices may be too high; if you can afford to, try lowering them slightly the following week and see if the results are better.

Customers at farmers’ markets love to sample food, so be prepared to give samples. Have an open jar of honey, some bread, and a toaster (or something else that’s good to spread your honey on). A bite-sized piece of toast (say, a quarter of a slice) with a teaspoon of honey is enough for a free sample. People who sample often feel obligated to make a purchase; don’t discourage them! You might even prepare snacks and sell them for direct consumption. For instance, you can bring boxes of waffles that can be heated in a toaster, spread them with honey and top them off with sliced strawberries. Price it so you cover your costs and make a little profit; $2.50 is not too much to pay for a small waffle slathered with honey and topped with strawberries. Serve your snacks on small paper plates, but try to keep them sized to be easy finger food. If farmers’ markets have tables and chairs at all, they’re probably off in some distant corner, and it’s awkward for customers to struggle with plastic knives and forks while standing and holding bags filled with produce.

Be ready to talk about your honey, bee pollen, beeswax, and other products. Suggest ideas for how to eat your products; if a tablespoon of your honey goes well in a milkshake, say so. Provide suggestions, and don’t lead customers astray. If a customer admits to having frequent gastrointestinal problems, raw bee pollen granules might be tough on his digestive system; you should say so. The customer will be grateful for the advice, and may as a result purchase some honey. Most important, be cheerful and active; smile at people passing by. Be a salesperson. Don’t bury yourself behind the counter reading a magazine; if customers don’t see any activity at your stall, they may think that it’s unoccupied and pass right by.

Likewise, keep things tidy, and keep your shelves restocked; don’t display empty shelves. If you have a sampling area or are selling snacks, keep these areas clean; honey tends to attract insects, and you don’t want flies swarming around your stall. If your range of products is limited, you might consider joining forces with another seller to offer variety — working with a baker might be a good match, for instance.

Finally, keep careful accounts of what you spend and what you take in. You’ll want to be able to gauge how successful your market stall is, not only in creating buzz about your business but in financial terms too. Most beekeepers find that a stall at a farmers’ market makes sense for their business, and if you plan and maintain your stall properly, you’re likely to find success as well.

The most direct way to sell your honey and other products is to set up your own stand, either near your home (where, presumably, you have your hives as well), or along a roadside. If you decide to set up a roadside stand that’s some distance from your house and apiary — but better for catching bypassing traffic — you’ll need to have someone staff it. It will be difficult to make up the cost of this extra staff help in honey sales. For many reasons, think about building a sales area at your house and apiary; you can start out with simple wooden shelving for displaying honey and other products, indoors or even outdoors. You want people to linger and ask questions; be sure your sales area, if outdoors, is in the shade or under some shelter, to protect customers both from bright sunshine and precipitation.

You’ll have to rely on signage to lure customers, especially if your home is distant from major thoroughfares. Identify a few major intersections that see considerable traffic that are convenient to your location, and place some eye-catching signs, with the word “honey” prominently displayed. If you’re not artistically inclined, ask an artist or a friend with at least some talent to help you. Your signs can look “rustic,” but they should also be professional. And before putting up signs, you should check any local ordinances regarding signage, and be sure not to sink a signpost into someone’s private property.

Next, you’ll need to package your product. Honey is sold in various forms; the rawest form is known as comb honey, which is taken straight from the hive and sold still encased in its beeswax honeycomb. (The wax is edible, but some people spit it out or simply spoon the honey out of the comb.) Most beekeepers who sell their honey directly use an extractor to spin honey out of the comb; they then bottle this extracted product and sell it as raw honey. Raw honey tends to contain bee pollen granules, flecks of honeycomb wax, propolis, and even fragments of bees wings. Honey can be further refined; liquid honey is what is commonly found in supermarkets. This is processed honey; it has been filtered to remove all pollen, wax, and other particles, and heated to melt any visible crystals. Granulated honey or creamed honey is a blend of raw honey and liquid honey (usually nine parts liquid honey for one part raw honey). You can process your own honey to some degree at home, and will need to determine market demand in your area, but generally customers who purchase honey directly from apiaries are looking for raw, unprocessed products.

Beekeeping supply shops can sell you blank jars of various sizes; you should sell your honey in a few sizes, as different customers will have different needs. You will also need to produce labels for your jars. At this point, think about your signage, a good name for your business, and a logo. Even if you’re only in the beginning stages of your business, you’ll eventually want to establish a visual “corporate identity,” so that your local customers will easily recognize you and your products by the look of your labels, signage, brochures, business cards, and so on. Work with an artist at an early stage to create a uniform design that can be applied to signs of various sizes, jar labels, and the like.

Your labels should clearly state what kind of honey they contain — whether raw, liquid, or granulated. The word “honey” itself must be clearly visible. Even if you sell raw honey straight from the comb without any processing, be careful in using the word “organic”: you have no control over where your bees have collected nectar, and they may well have foraged among plants that have been fertilized nonorganically. Other required information for your label include the net weight of your product (excluding packaging), ingredients (if any, besides honey), and your contact information. Labels usually must also include nutritional information (which can be detailed on a second label, affixed to the back of the jar) and, if you intend to sell through third-party markets, a UPC bar code for scanners. The National Honey Board’s website provides detailed information about labeling requirements.

Finally, you’ll have to price your honey. To establish realistic prices, you should visit farmers’ markets, other apiaries, supermarkets, health food stores, online shops, and anywhere else where your target customers can source honey, to do price comparisons. Be sure to take your own operating costs into consideration; you don’t want to lose money with each jar of honey that you sell. And bear in mind that most customers are willing to pay a premium for natural products purchased directly at a farm; there is value in the experience of simply visiting an apiary.

Simple rows of honey jars can make for a visually uninspired display; use some imagination to dress up your shelves with some color — whether flowers, fruits or vegetables, brochures, or other elements. If any of your neighbors have extensive gardens, you might talk with them about selling their excess produce along with your honey; a bigger product mix will draw more customers. Cut flowers, squash, tomatoes, berries — whatever grows locally will work. And you can expand your own range of products to include bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax, and more.

You’ll have to advertise to some extent, especially if your sales stand is off the main roads; your signs will attract some customers, but some days will be very slow. Take out ads in local newspapers, both print editions and online editions; local grocery stores may allow you to leave brochures or post ads on bulletin boards inside the stores. Think of other ways to get your business talked about; volunteer your apiary as a destination for school field trips, or talk with local reporters about your business. Local news stations are always interested in human-interest stories.

And, if you have sufficient supply, approach local markets, grocery stories, health food stores, and other retail outlets about stocking your honey. The retail price should match what you charge customers at your stand, but you’ll see less profit through sales at third-party stores, who will of course take a sizeable commission. But over the long term you’ll see greater profits through an increased volume of sales.

Your product is a winner: people love honey, especially bought fresh from the farm. Getting started with sales is easy, and with some skill and a little luck, you may soon have a thriving business.

The domestication of wild bees began at some point during antiquity; artificial hives were made from hollow logs, wooden boxes, pottery, and woven straw baskets known as skeps. In ancient Egypt, the sun temple of Nyuserre Ini, dating to 2,422 BC, has drawings depicting workers blowing smoke into beehives as they remove honeycombs. The production of honey was an organized activity in ancient Egypt; inscriptions detailing beekeeping activities were found in the tomb of Pabasa (~650 BC), as well as depictions of workers pouring honey into jars. Pharaohs, including Tutankhamen (1333-1323 BC), were often buried with sealed pots of honey, among other grave items.

Ancient Greek civilizations, too, had advanced beekeeping activities. Various paraphernalia related to beekeeping have been found at Knossos, on Crete: hives, smoking pots, honey extractors, and more. Cretan civilization valued beekeeping as an advanced profession, controlled by overseers. These overseers wore gold rings engraved with beekeeping scenes rather than the religious themes typically found on Cretan jewelry.

Rehov was an Bronze Age and Iron Age city in the Jordan Valley, in present-day Israel. The city thrived some 3,000 years ago and was populated by Israelites (Hebrew speakers) and Canaanites. Rehov has long been an important archaeological site, and in 2007, thirty intact beehives and the remains of a few hundred more, dating to the mid-tenth century BC, were found among the ruins. The presence of so many hives, made of straw and unbaked clay and laid out in orderly rows, indicate a highly advanced apiculture. The apiary could have held up to a million bees, with a potential annual yield of 500 kilograms of honey and 70 kilograms of beeswax. The biblical phrase “Land of Milk and Honey,” once thought to refer to “honey” derived from dates and figs, took on new meaning with this discovery.

The remains of bees, bee larvae, and bee pupae were also found at Rehov. Using DNA analysis, researchers determined that the Rehov bees were a subspecies of the Anatolian bee, now found only in present-day Turkey. It is possible that the bees naturally migrated, but it’s also possible that the Rehov beekeepers imported their bees from Anatolia, because Anatolian bees are less aggressive and provide a better honey yield, up to eight times stronger, than bees native to Israel. This would indicate an active trade in honey bees among beekeepers of different civilizations.

There is further evidence of widespread commerce in bees throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Bees were transported in large pottery vases and portable beehives. An Assyrian inscription dating to the eighth century BC records a transaction in which a cargo of bees was transported 400 kilometers, from the Taurus Mountains in Anatolia south into Assyria.

Beekeeping advanced as a profession in classical Greece. Aristotle discusses the lives of bees and beekeeping in detail. The philosopher kept bees himself, in simple hives with wooden strip top-bars, and made numerous observations about their behavior in his History of Animals. He noted that foraging bees select one type of flower only during each foraging mission; that they use propolis to “narrow” hive entrances that are too wide; that some foragers “carry water”; and that bees “discharge their excrement in flight.” Aristotle also observed the division of labor among bees in the hive, noting that “some [bees] make wax, some make honey, some make [pollen], some shape and mold combs …” Dead bees are removed from the hive, and drones are expelled when food runs short. Interestingly, Aristotle makes constant reference to the “king bee,” assuming that a male must somehow be in charge. The belief in the existence of a king bee persisted for another 1,700 years.

Beekeeping was also written about extensively in ancient Rome; Virgil, Gaius Julius Hyginus, Varro, and Columella all wrote about beekeeping. Book IV of Virgil’s Georgics, published in 29 BC, is all about apiculture, written entirely in verse. Bee colonies are a model for human society: like man, bees labor, are devoted to a king, and give their lives freely for the sake of the community. However, bees lack the arts, and they have no capacity for love. This interesting discussion about bees then leads to the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and other mythological themes. Virgil followed up the Georgics with the more widely read Aeneid.

Beekeeping was also widespread in ancient China; the government minister Fan Li, of the state of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period (roughly 750-400 BC), stresses the importance of the hive in beekeeping. In his text Golden Rules of Business Success, he writes that the quality of the wooden manmade hive can affect the quality of the honey that bees produce.

There is ample evidence of beekeeping throughout the ancient world, with more evidence being accumulated by historians and archeologists and a regular basis. Beekeeping has always been an important profession.

There are two varieties of wax moths, both of which feast on beeswax. Greater wax moths are 1-1.5 inches in length (as adults); lesser wax moths are smaller, perhaps half an inch in length. The caterpillar larvae of both species are bred commercially; called “waxworms,” they are sold as food for terrarium pets and some species of birds, due mainly to their high fat content. These larvae are also popular as fishing bait, particular for sunfish; anglers refer to the larvae as “waxies.” Most beekeepers, however, are not keen on opening a bait shop as a sideline, and would prefer to rid their hives of these pests.

The moths tend to work at night; the early summer is their most active season. They enter a beehive through a top entrance, often unguarded by bees, and lay their eggs in small cracks within the hive that are inaccessible to the bees. The eggs hatch, and the young larvae then begin feeding on wax and hive debris, tunneling into capped cells and secreting an extremely sticky white web, not unlike a spider’s web but much more resilient. If such an infestation is left untreated, a colony will eventually abscond.

Wax Moths

Generally, wax moths will not attack healthy bee colonies. For the most part, bees are quite capable of defending their own hives against intruders; they can drive moths away, destroy larvae, and clean out any webs that have been left by the larvae. However, colonies already weakened by some other infestation — whether mites or a parasitic disease — are less capable of fending off a moth invasion, and are therefore more vulnerable. If you keep your hives healthy otherwise, wax moths are not likely to be a problem.

If your hive has an entrance at the top, bees will often not guard this entrance, especially in cooler weather when they tend to cluster together. Simply adding some screening to the entrance to prevent entry by moths is one preventative measure you can take. Some beekeepers have devised a wax moth trap that lures moths but not bees. Take a two-liter plastic bottle and drill a one-inch hole near the top, just below the slope of the neck. Add one cup of water, one cup of sugar, a half-cup of vinegar, and a banana peel. Within a few days, this mixture will begin to ferment. At that point, tie the bottle to a tree near your hives (with the hole facing out). Moths will be drawn to the fermenting mixture; they will crawl in through the hole but won’t be able to get out, and will drown in the liquid.

If your hive has already been infected with wax moths, you can take other measures. Wax moths do not take to cold weather; freezing the frames in an infected hive will kill all stages of the moth, including eggs and larvae. First, remove any unused frames and freeze those. Use a deep freezer where you can set the temperature, and freeze the frames for 4.5 hours at 20 degrees Fahrenheit, then 3 hours at 10 degrees, and 2 hours at 5 degrees. Once these frames have been sterilized, crowd your bees and remove all frames that don’t contain brood, and freeze those frames too. “Crowding” your bees will also have the effect of leaving less space for any adult moths to hide, and they will be driven out.

Honey Bees

As a reinforcing measure, you can fumigate a hive with a chemical such as phosphine; these sorts of fumigants are hazardous, however, and should be used only if you have experience. Find an experienced beekeeper to help with your fumigation as necessary. Paradichlorobenzine (PDB) is another chemical agent that will kill all forms of wax moths. After any fumigation, the combs must be well aired out for several days before use.

One other solution is to discourage wax moths by not providing their larvae with anything to eat. Many beekeepers use artificial honeycombs, for a variety of reasons. If bees don’t have to construct their own honeycombs, they have more time to make honey. Artificial honeycombs, made of plastic or even aluminum,  are stronger and better able to hold their structure during high-speed honey extraction. Bees are just as happy to raise their broods and store honey in plastic honeycombs, but these same combs are of no use to wax moths.

Beekeepers have devised several methods for preventing wax moth invasions, and of clearing hives that have already been infected. These pests are manageable, if you take the proper steps.

Among the many wild predators that threaten honey bee colonies, perhaps none are as voracious as the honey badger. These omnivores are mustelids — members of what is commonly referred to as the weasel family. They do not occur in Europe, east Asia, Australia, or the Americas; honey badgers are mostly found in sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent. And, in these areas, honey badgers can pose major problems for beekeepers.

Honey badgers have a fairly long body length but are thick-set and broad across the back. Their loose skin allows them to twist and turn freely. Their heads are small and flat, with short muzzles and ears little more than ridges on the skin; their eyes are also quite small for their bodies. These diminished facial features are perhaps an adaptation to the honey badger�s tendency to fight — there is less to grab onto!

These fast-moving animals have short, sturdy legs, with five toes on each paw. The two forepaws have remarkably long claws, for both defensive and offensive purposes. They can run quickly and have extensive ranges in the wild, sometimes covering 30 or 40 kilometers in a day. Honey badgers are not quite 12 inches high at the shoulder and about 30 inches in length; males can weigh up to 35 pounds, females somewhat less. They are solitary animals and live in holes in the ground that they dig themselves, but during mating season they can pair up as mates. They are intelligent and capable of using primitive tools, such as moving logs into positions allowing them to climb and reach high objects.

Honey Badgers and Bees

But honey badgers are mostly known for their aggressive behavior. They hunt and eat throughout the day, and become nocturnal in areas inhabited by humans. Although they eat anything, they are primarily carnivores, devouring carrion, small and large rodents, birds, lizards, and even venomous snakes. (A snake bite can subdue and sometimes kill a honey badger, but the badgers can often take down a snake without getting bitten.) And, in areas of human settlement, honey badgers will relentlessly go after domestic poultry, and the various consumables that can be found in domesticated beehives.

Throughout Africa, honey badgers, apart from humans, are the most destructive mammalian predators of honey bees. With so many food sources, the badgers do not necessarily require the nutrition from a hive, but they target the bee brood and will gladly devour the honey as well. Traditional as well as commercial beekeepers in Africa lose substantially to honey badgers, sometimes more than 10 percent of their hives. In Western Cape Province, Cape Town�s hinterland in South Africa, honey badgers have been causing losses of more than $60,000 annually. Commercial beekeepers, whether in Africa or anywhere else in the world, are rarely able to sustain these kinds of losses over an extended period of time.

A honey badger will tear at a hive until he can get inside; the bees will swarm and sting the badger, but with his loose skin, he is able to absorb the stings.

Because honey badgers typically roll hives over and rip off bottom boards — which may be weakened by moisture — it�s important to maintain a strong hive, with sections fastened together. Simply rolling the hive may disturb the bee colony, but if the badger can�t get inside, the colony will remain safe. Using screws as pegs and securing the hive with taut wire connecting the pegs is a stronger solution than simply wrapping baling wire around a hive. Even stronger, the hive boxes can be secured with industrial steel straps wrapped around, which requires additional tools for crimping and tensioning.

In addition to such strengthening, hives in Africa are frequently raised off the ground, at least a meter. The stands or trestles obviously must be fully secure such that the badgers can�t knock them over, and secured to the ground with metal strap, pallets, or wires. Stands can be made of a variety of found materials: welded scrap metal, steel, discarded fence posts, even stacks of old tires. Barbed wire can be positioned around the perimeter of a hive area, but honey badgers are resourceful creatures and can often find a workaround for barbed wire.

In many parts of Africa, traditional beekeepers continue to use methods that have been in use for centuries and longer. According to such practice, beehives are suspended from the upper branches of tall trees. Such hives may be basket hives, or simply hollowed logs that bees can adapt to. Obviously, it�s much harder to maintain such hives and harvest honey from them; for starters, it involves having to climb the tree! But bees raised in such fashion are generally safe from honey badgers.

Keeping dogs to fend off honey badger attacks is not effective; in most duels, a honey badger will get the best of a dog. Some beekeepers attempt to trap and kill the badgers; if they are perceived as a threat to one�s livelihood, this is not an unreasonable response. However, because honey badgers generally have only two cubs at a time and they are already threatened by beekeepers, poultry farmers, and other humans, some concerned activists have waged campaigns in favor of protecting these animals. If you keep your hives safe by making them strong and tight and then positioning them above the ground, honey badgers will simply leave them alone; there�s plenty of other food they can eat!

Although honey badgers are not found in North America or Europe, some of these same techniques can be used to protect hives from native small mammals such as raccoons and skunks.