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We didnt invent manmade beehives until relatively recently so honey harvesting was a lot more effort in the past

by Xss3 1y ago

asimpletune 1y ago
Define recently? Domesticated bees are mentioned explicitly in Plato’s laws, with instructions on how people should be compensated if someone kills someone else’s bees, so it must have been around for quite a while before then.
thaumasiotes 1y ago
The article specifically discusses how it's common to find ceramic beehives.
geocar 1y ago
Nonsense. There is no definition of "relatively recently" that has anything to do with humans where that is true. Bees were probably one of the first things we humans ever made farms for: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34749846 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34749846 We have been doing it before we had written language and even perhaps before our spoken language had evolved past the imperative. So yeah, the romans absolutely kept bees, and they made "manmade beehives" like this: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D21%3Achapter%3D47 https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext... The hives ought to have an aspect due east, but never looking towards the north-east or the west. The best hives are those made of bark, the next best those of fennel-giant, and the next of osier: many persons, too, have them made of mirror-stone, for the purpose of watching the bees at work within. It is the best plan to anoint the hives all over with cow-dung. The lid of the hive should be made to slide from behind, so as to admit of being shut to within, in case the hive should prove too large or their labours unproductive; for, if this is not done, the bees are apt to become discouraged and abandon their work. The slide may then be gradually withdrawn, the increase of space being imperceptible to the bees as the work progresses. In winter, too, the hives should be covered with straw, and subjected to repeated fumigations, with burnt cow- dung more particularly. As this is of kindred origin with the bees, the smoke produced by it is particularly beneficial in killing all such insects as may happen to breed there, such as spiders, for instance, moths, and wood-worms; while, at the same time, it stimulates the bees themselves to increased activity. In fact, there is little difficulty in getting rid of the spiders, but to destroy the moths, which are a much greater plague, a night must be chosen in spring, just when the mallow is ripening, there being no moon, but a clear sky: flam- beaux are then lighted before the hives, upon which the moths precipitate themselves in swarms into the flame.

We didnt invent manmade beehives until relatively recently so honey harvesting was a lot more effort in the past

by Xss3 1y ago

We didnt invent manmade beehives until relatively recently so honey harvesting was a lot more effort in the past

Define recently? Domesticated bees are mentioned explicitly in Plato’s laws, with instructions on how people should be compensated if someone kills someone else’s bees, so it must have been around for quite a while before then.

thaumasiotes 1y ago

The article specifically discusses how it's common to find ceramic beehives.

geocar 1y ago

Nonsense. There is no definition of "relatively recently" that has anything to do with humans where that is true. Bees were probably one of the first things we humans ever made farms for: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34749846 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34749846 We have been doing it before we had written language and even perhaps before our spoken language had evolved past the imperative. So yeah, the romans absolutely kept bees, and they made "manmade beehives" like this: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D21%3Achapter%3D47 https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext... The hives ought to have an aspect due east, but never looking towards the north-east or the west. The best hives are those made of bark, the next best those of fennel-giant, and the next of osier: many persons, too, have them made of mirror-stone, for the purpose of watching the bees at work within. It is the best plan to anoint the hives all over with cow-dung. The lid of the hive should be made to slide from behind, so as to admit of being shut to within, in case the hive should prove too large or their labours unproductive; for, if this is not done, the bees are apt to become discouraged and abandon their work. The slide may then be gradually withdrawn, the increase of space being imperceptible to the bees as the work progresses. In winter, too, the hives should be covered with straw, and subjected to repeated fumigations, with burnt cow- dung more particularly. As this is of kindred origin with the bees, the smoke produced by it is particularly beneficial in killing all such insects as may happen to breed there, such as spiders, for instance, moths, and wood-worms; while, at the same time, it stimulates the bees themselves to increased activity. In fact, there is little difficulty in getting rid of the spiders, but to destroy the moths, which are a much greater plague, a night must be chosen in spring, just when the mallow is ripening, there being no moon, but a clear sky: flam- beaux are then lighted before the hives, upon which the moths precipitate themselves in swarms into the flame.