Many people know very little about how honey bees have been a part of our history since colonial times. Why were honey bees important to the colonial beekeeper? How were bees raised? Is beekeeping different today than it was then? These are all questions that need to be asked. The honey bee is a unique insect that has accompanied the history of our country for centuries. Beekeeping has changed over time, but many of the essential results of keeping honey bees have remained the same. Let's take a look at their similarities and differences. The honey bee is not native to North America. In Notes on Virginia1 Thomas Jefferson states: “The honey bee is not native to our continent. Marcgrove, in fact, mentions a species of honey bee from Brazil. But this one has no sting, and is therefore different from the one we have, which perfectly resembles the European one. The Indians agree with us in the tradition that it was brought from Europe; but when and by whom we do not know. Bees generally spread into the countryside, a little before the white settlers. The Indians, therefore, call them the white man's fly, and regard their approach as indicative of the approach of white settlements. Records show that colonies of honey bees were shipped from England and landed in the colony of Virginia in early 1622.2 From that time on, honey bees were part of colonial life. It has been difficult to obtain definitive information on how the bees were shipped, but it is reasonable to assume that they were raised and transported in straw baskets. In the following years, wooden crates and pieces of wood were used3. Perhaps during the many weeks spent at sea a light, airy cloth was pinned over a small bag-shaped opening which allowed the bees to fly in, take some... half a piece of paper...l; Retired, former beekeeper, U.S. Department of Agriculture. BEEKEEPING IN THE UNITED STATES; AGRICULTURE MANUAL NUMBER 335 Revised October 1980; Pages 2 – 93 Ibid.4 Wayne Lemar, president of the La Crosse Area Beekeepers Association; beekeeper for 34 years. Former teacher at Western Wisconsin Technical College (now Western Technical Collage)5 Oscar Carlson beekeeper for 40 years. Former president of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association and teacher of entomology at UW-Stout for 26 years.6 American Bee Journal July 1921, 'Incidents in Massachusetts Colony Prior to 1654' by George W. Adams7 Robert Hoffman, beekeeper for 60 years. Former high school science teacher in Holmen, WI for 38 years and current member of the La Crosse Area Beekeepers Association.8 History of American Beekeeping by Frank Chapman Pellett, copyright 19389 Ibid. 410 Ibid. 2