Buzzing Trees and Sweet Treats: Beekeeping in the Pre-Modern Era

Beekeepers haven’t been keeping bees in the rectangular hives used today for very long. In the past, bees were kept in straw baskets, woven willow hives, or hollowed-out tree trunks. A very special form of beekeeping was known as “Zeidlerei.” In this form of forest beekeeping, the bees were kept in specially prepared trees.
The research findings from the “History of Bees” project take you on a journey through beekeeping in times past. The “Zeidlerei” is featured, as is the development of European beekeeping from the ancient Egyptians to the present day. For children, there’s a puzzle to solve—and a little surprise awaits those who solve it.