The story of bees: how these insects evolved

How long have bees been around?

Bees possess a truly fascinating and distant history. The oldest bee was found in Myanmar inside a fossil resin dating back to one hundred million years ago. Thanks to the available sources it is possible to understand how ancient the history of bees on the planet is.

Initially, bees weren't the same as the insects we know today. Like any living species, they too have undergone a long evolutionary process that has transformed them into very hard-working, productive and indispensable beings for the planet we live on.

Today bees populate all of the Earth. Let's find out their history and some interesting aspects of the past of these wonderful animals.

How bees evolved

Today there are about 20,000 different species of bees . Millions of years ago, these insects had different behaviors and habits. It is thought that the first existing bees were much more similar to wasps and that they fed on other insects and not on honey and pollen. Today we know that bees are "vegetarian" animals in the sense that they never feed on other species but only on substances deriving from plants and flowers.

Since bees constantly move from one flower to another, they are primarily responsible for the pollination process . The latter is very important for the planet as it allows plant species to proliferate. Bees are responsible for the variety and floral diversity we enjoy now.

Many plants are unable to self-pollinate and, without the help of bees, the action of the wind alone would not be effective. Precisely for this reason, even plants have undergone a huge evolutionary process. In fact, the flowers have become more and more colorful and lively in order to attract bees as much as possible.

History of beekeeping and origins

Bees have very ancient origins but when did man begin to practice beekeeping ? This activity is attributed to the ancient Egyptians but the exact beginning of this practice among the ancients is not known.

Many populations ate honey but did not raise bees . According to the available sources, there is talk of "bee farming" in the period dating back to the Egyptian civilization.

These populations captured the swarms and collected the honey by destroying the entire hive. In the past, the hives consisted of particular upside-down baskets made of wicker, sticks and bark. Subsequently these techniques were refined and after many discoveries there was no longer the need to destroy the hive for the harvest.

honey was considered a precious food and sacred in ancient Egypt so much so that it was defined as "food of the Gods". In the Middle East, honey was also used to embalm corpses.

Subsequently, the practice of beekeeping passed into the hands of the Greek and Roman populations. This activity in ancient times was of great economic importance. Not knowing other sweeteners, honey was considered a great wealth and men of the past were greedy for it!

The benefits of honey are truly endless. It not only has a strong sweetening power, anti-inflammatory and healing properties but it is also a very important source of energy. Even royal jelly intended for queen bees is still a highly sought-after food today. The production of honey is a very ancient wealth.

Use of honey by ancient peoples

Man has been using honey for about 12,000 years. According to the cave paintings, man collected honey since prehistoric times! Many paintings have been found inside caves dating back to 5000 years BC. and depict human beings surrounded by bees in flight preparing to gather honey from the trunks. In the other hand we find a basket in which the harvest was placed.

The ancients loved this substance so much that they ran the risk of being stung. Some astonishing testimonies show us how man began to use the smoking technique to drive away bees when harvesting honey. Rock painting, which perhaps dates back to the beginning of our era, may be the oldest documentation of the use of fumigations to manage bees.

At the beginning of the medieval period, beekeeping continued to have its strong relevance. Bees were no longer raised only for honey but also for other uses. The various monastic orders worked hard to carry out beekeeping thanks to which they obtained the very useful wax for the production of candles.

Wax was in fact very important and was also used to create large candles to be used in churches.

The role of bees has always been vital for our planet and for us humans as well. In fact, bees are the only insects that produce edible food for humans. The uses of this substance vary a great deal. In addition to its function as a natural sweetener, honey has many antiseptic and antibiotic properties that make it truly unique and special.

The work of bees must be defended and protected. The beekeeping activity is today a great help and support for the life of these splendid animals.

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