Editing Beekeeping (section)

{{short description|Human care of honey bees}}
[[File:Beekeeper 2017 Honeybee Conservancy, College of DuPage.jpg|thumb|Beekeeper at the [[College of DuPage]], Illinois]]
'''Beekeeping''' (or '''apiculture''', from {{langx|la|[[wikt:apis#Latin|apis]] + culture}}) is the maintenance of [[bee]] colonies, commonly in artificial [[beehive]]s. [[Honey bee]]s in the genus ''[[Apis (bee)|Apis]]'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as ''[[Melipona]]'' stingless bees are also kept. [[Beekeeper]]s (or apiarists) keep bees to collect [[honey]] and other products of the hive: [[beeswax]], [[propolis]], [[bee pollen]], and [[royal jelly]]. Other sources of beekeeping income include [[pollination]] of crops, raising [[Queen bee|queens]], and production of package bees for sale. Bee hives are kept in an [[apiary]] or "bee yard".

The earliest evidence of humans collecting honey are from Spanish caves paintings dated 6,000 BCE,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haralampos V. Harissis: Ed. by, F. Hatjina, G. Mavrofridis, R. Jones. |title=Beekeeping in the Mediterranean from antiquity to the present - Beekeeping in prehistoric Greece |date=2017 |page=18 |url=https://www.academia.edu/31920015/Beekeeping_in_prehistoric_Greece |access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref> however it is not until 3,100 BCE that there is evidence from Egypt of beekeeping being practiced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mark Patterson |title=Tears of Re: Beekeeping in Ancient Egypt |date=2016 |url=https://www.apicultural.co.uk/tears-of-re-beekeeping-in-ancient-egypt#:~:text=The%20first%20actual%20evidence%20of,and%20how%20they%20were%20kept. |access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref>

In the modern era, beekeeping is often used for crop pollination and the collection of its by products, such as [[Beeswax|wax]] and [[propolis]]. The largest beekeeping operations are agricultural businesses but many small beekeeping operations are run as a [[hobby]]. As beekeeping technology has advanced, beekeeping has become more accessible, and [[urban beekeeping]] was described as a growing trend as of 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-04 |title=Why urban beekeeping is a rising trend in major cities |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/urban-beekeeping-rising-trend-major-cities |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref> Some studies have found city-kept bees are healthier than those in rural settings because there are fewer pesticides and greater biodiversity in cities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tanguy|first=Marion|date=23 June 2010|title=Can cities save our bees? – Marion Tanguy|newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/23/can-cities-save-bees|publisher=|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>