First published in 2000. This comprehensive book represents the first attempt to write a world history of people's use of social bees: how bees' nests were initially hunted for their honey and wax and, later, how the bees were kept in purpose-made hives. Evidence survives from early times in the form of artefacts, pictures and written records, and also human traditions of dealing with bees. Since 1949 the author has had opportunities to travel in over sixty countries, and to see traditional and modern hive beekeeping and also honey collection from nests. She learned much that helped her to piece together some of the long history in the different continents.

Zusammenfassung
This definitive work by world-renowned bee authority Eva Crane offers a fascinating account of bees and their complex relations with both humans and animals. Comprehensive, absorbing, and lavishly illustrated, this scholarly, yet accessible volume explores how bees, honey and other bee products have been gathered and utilized throughout the world.Beginning with the rock paintings of the Mesolithic cave dwellers, readers will learn about the variety of methods used by human beekeepers, the stratagems used by animal honey-hunters, and the multitude of products humans have derived from bees. The first in-depth book on the subject, the World History of Beekeeping and Honey-Hunting is the ultimate work on bees for scholars in biology and the life sciences, professional and amateur beekeepers, and anyone who is interested in bees or the collection of honey.

Inhalt

PART I Setting the Scene 2. The Ancestry of Honey-Storing Insects 3. Honey-Storing Insects and their World Distribution 4. Features of Honey Bees in Relation to their Use by Man 5. Animals other than Man in Relation to Bees PART II Opportunistic Honey Hunting by Man 6. Man's First Interactions with Bees and Honey 7. Honey and Bee Hunting, with Examples in the Mediterranean Region and Middle East 8. Honey Hunting in Africa South of the Sahara 9. Honey Hunting in Temperate-Zone Europe 10. Honey Hunting in Asia East of Persia 11. Honey Hunting in the Americas and Oceania: Stingless Bees 12. Honey and Bee Hunting in the Americas and Oceania: Introduced Honey Bees 13. Honey Hunting: Bumble Bees, Honey-Storing Wasps and Honey Ants PART III History of Collecting Honey from Owned or Tended Nests 14. Ownership of Nests and Nest Sites: General Features, and Apis mellifera Nests 15. Ownership, and Rights of Using, Nests and Nest Sites in Asia East of Persia 16. Cavity Nests of Honey Bees: Tending and Beekeeping 17. Cavity Nests of Other Honey-Storing Insects: Ownership and Tending PART IV Honey Bees that Nest in the Open: Tending and Beekeeping 18. The Giant Honey Bee Apis dorsata: Tending and Beekeeping 19. The Dwarf Honey Bee Apis florea: Tending and Beekeeping PART V History of Traditional Beekeeping using Fixed-Comb Hives 20. Originations of Hive Beekeeping, and Its Early Development in Egypt 21. Traditional Hive Beekeeping to the East, South and West of the Mediterranean 22. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in Mediterranean Islands 23. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in Ancient Greece 24. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in the Roman World 25. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in Europe I. The South 26. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in Europe ll. The Northern Forest Zone 27. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in Europe ill. West of the Forest Zone 28. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in Africa South of the Sahara 29. Traditional Hive Beekeeping in Asia East of Persia 30. Traditional Hive Beekeeping with Stingless Bees 31. Traditional Hive Beekeeping with Honey Bees in the Americas and Oceania 32. History of Apiaries PART VI History of Practices in both Traditional and Movable-Frame Beekeeping 33. History of Protective Measures against Stinging by Bees 34. History of Controlling Bees with Smoke and Other Substances 35. History of Migratory Beekeeping 36. Transport and Spread of Honey Bees around the World 37. History of Observation Hives PART VII Development of Beekeeping Using More Advanced Hives 38. Beekeeping Using Improved Traditional Fixed-Comb Hives 39. Traditional Movable-Comb Hives with Top-Bars 40. Rational Improvements in Hives, 1649-1851 PART VIII Development of Beekeeping Using Movable-Frame Hives 41. Impact of Langstroth's Movable-Frame Hive on World Beekeeping 42. History of Beekeepers' Associations and Beekeeping Journals 43. Inventions and Advances that made Movable-Frame Beekeeping more Productive 44. History of Rearing Queens and Bees for Beekeeping 45. History of the Use of Bees for Crop Pollination PART IX History of Bee Products 46. History of the Treatment of Honey and Beeswax, and their Trade 47. History of the Uses of Honey 48. History of Drinks Made by the Fermentation of Honey 49. History of the Uses of Beeswax 50. History of the Use of Bees as Stinging Insects 51. History of Other Products from Bees PART X Bees in the Human Mind 52. The Growth of Knowledge about Honey Bees and their Products 53. Bees and Beekeeping: History of Gender Roles and of a bee community