The Honey Bee' 



By James I. Hambleton 



Collaborator, U.S. Department of Agriculture 



[With 4 plates] 



Of all the insects in the world probably no one species is more 

 widely distributed than the honey bee. Its present habitat includes 

 the whole of the earth wherever flowering plants occur — from the polar 

 regions to the Equator. Honey bees are not indigenous to all continents 

 of the world, but they have become introduced and established essen- 

 tially in all parts occupied by man. 



If the statement seems too strong that the honey bee is more widely 

 distributed than any other of our common insects, it can be said con- 

 servatively that the product of the bee is the most widely produced of 

 man's food. Even such common foods as wheat and milk are not so 

 universally known. 



Honey bees were busily engaged in making honey and beeswax be- 

 fore the advent of man. Honey and wax of the bee were waiting in 

 readiness for our earliest ancestors at the beginning of their evolu- 

 tionary climb. In time they learned of the sweetness of honey and 

 that wax could be employed for many purposes. For centuries honey 

 was the only sweet, and it and beeswax were regarded so highly by the 

 ancients that they wove into their religious ceremonies in one way or 

 another frequent references to honey, wax, and bees. Symbols repre- 

 senting various phases of bee husbandry are found in the earliest 

 recorded histories. Man throughout his existence has been closely 

 associated with the honey bee. 



Honey and beeswax were used in the payment of taxes and as 

 indemnity. Conquered tribes and peoples paid off reparations in the 

 form of honey and wax. To the present day beeswax plays an impor- 

 tant part in the rites of the church. A beehive forms the central mo- 

 tive of the great seal of the State of Utah. 



^ This article In Its original form, under the title "The Indispensable Honeybee," first 

 appeared In the Smithsonian Annual Report for 1945, pp. 293-304, lllus. In the inter- 

 vening years the paper has proved so popular and useful that Mr. Hambleton welcomed 

 the opportunity to bring it up to date, expand it along certain lines, and provide fresh 

 Illustrations, for a new generation of readers. The present version is the result. — 

 Editor. 



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