What a strange destiny that of the bee, come to earth to ensure the reproduction of flowering plants and to perpetuate the survival of many species.
In his thirst for transmitting information, man, in turn predator or protector has, in his ambivalence, told since the dawn of time the very special relationships he has forged with this insect that is both social and independent.
From century to century, from rock representations to written texts and sometimes very ancient remains, a formidable chain of knowledge has been formed; an account of the story that unites man and bee. Even today, recent technologies make it possible , day after day, to confirm , supplement, increase and disseminate this knowledge.
This new copy of the «Cahiers d’Apistoria» aims to be, like the previous ones, one of the links in thischain.
First of all a return to the archives of the society makes it possible to rediscover, in part, the rich heritage of the Var département in built remains. (Apistoria session of October 2019, La Roquebrussanne 83-France).
By their diversity, the subjects treated in copies of acts, scientific for some, anecdotal for others, become more widely available to readers.
Finally, you will be able to «browse» two small texts, respectively extracted from the Bulletin de laSociété Centrale d’Apiculture, and from the Bulletin de la Société Romande d’Apiculture.
Apistoria wishes you happy reading!
Rediscovering the Var
Preamble : While evoking the stonework apiaries of the South of France, Jean-Marie Jeanton Lamarche, the then Librarian-Archivist at the Central Beekeeping Society, wrote: “Some of these old remains constituted very interesting links in the long chain of constructions which started with tree trunks and primitive pottery, and evolved after many variations and experiments into modern beekeeping. In addition to preserving the ethnological heritage specific to the region, it is important to save from oblivion one of the many elements of beekeeping memory”.
The mildness of the Mediterranean climate has always been propitious for beekeeping activity, and the presence of many Abbeys was also a factor which encouraged beekeeping for the needs of religious services. Dry stone enclosures built on the mountainside were a typical feature of the region. Forests of cork oaks provided the raw material for trunk hives placed on benches.
A rich built heritage therefore existed, as archive documents and remains still visible today bear witness. The Var département had earlier been explored in depth by the people who were later to found Apistoria. A look at our archives allowed us first of all to have an idea of sites already documented by our society. In 2019, continuing this task, our society set itself the aim of finding some of these sites. While some of these have been perfectly restored, others sadly have been subjected to the destructive work of time.
Louis-François Canolle,the Bee-Owners’ Manual and the Experimental Apiary
Summary: The Napoleonic period marks the beginning of modern beekeeping. The beekeeping classes given in Paris by Charles-Pierre Lombard, beekeeper and member of the Royal and Central Agriculture Society, started during the first years of the Restoration. In order to infuse some dynamism into French beekeeping, which had fallen into disuse when sugar-derived products appeared, the Prefects of each département sent a representative to attend these classes, so they could pass on this knowledge to others. At the request of the Prefect of the Var département, and with the aim of developing beekeeping there, Louis-François Canolle, then Mayor of La Roquebrussane, attended Mr Lombard’s classes in 1822.
At his return he recorded, in a detailed memoir, what he had learned. In order to satisfy the demands of the Prefect and at the request of local beekeepers, in 1829 he published his «Bee-Owners’ Manual, According to a New Method, Presented in Dictionary form», and constructed his «Experimental Apiary», which earned him his entry into the Society for Science and Fine Arts of the Var as an associate member.
The Beehive’s Journey round the Pyrenees
Summary: Around the Pyrenees the native Bronze Age substratum was infl uenced by the Iberians to the South and East and the Celts to the West, and by Carthaginians and Greeks from diff erent trading posts along the Mediterranean coast. While the primitive hollow tree-trunk hive survived in the Languedoc and in Catalonia, the Celtic splint hive found favour in the Basque Country and in Aragon, where the horizontal hive of the Greeks and Carthaginians was also used. These hives were in use until the twentieth century.
Honey on Eivissa
Summary: «Això is me»! (It’s honey!). This expression in Catalan reflects this work perfectly, as the reader comes to the last page. How can one not agree with Vicent Mari when he hopes, «This book should be like a meal in which everyone can participate with pleasure». Surely he himself must have taken enormous pleasure in presenting this rich culture in which toponymy, proverbs, folk medicine, literature, gastronomy – many examples which go beyond Ibiza: he takes account of the importance of bees in the world, and is concerned about the different threats that the future holds for them. How indeed could we not be concerned!
Beehives on Ibiza and Beekeeping memories of Ibiza
Beehives on Ibiza
Summary: The author had been asked if he could publish what he had presented about beekeeping in his Balearic region, which he had not been able to do before. He starts by describing one of the old hives of which examples were found in an apiary on Ibiza. This hive has the characteristics of being designed to be almost indestructible, fire-resistant and practically impossible to move, it cannot be stolen, however its installation, lying on the ground, complicates the beekeeper’s task.
Beekeeping memories of Ibiza
Summary: Past beekeeping implements objects abandoned since then, some of them used in Ibiza are mentioned, with a few anecdotes, in order to have still some written records. A squash, locally called «carabassa beiera», was used to collect swarms of bees, and the inferior part of «sa pitrera», an agave of American origin, was used for the same purpose. Sa « paella fumera », a smoker, was filled with « pudrilac », or internal carob fiber. In large apiaries, mechanical presses were used to extract the honey.
Honey on Ibiza or the Long History of a Beekeeping Tradition
Summary: Beekeeping on Ibiza is a very long-established practice which began 654 years before the Christian era with the arrival of the Carthaginians. It is in the image of the casera, the traditional hive typical of Ibiza which Bernardo Lliteras, founder of the museum at Llubi in Mallorca, said was « made for eternity ». Since the 1960s the tourist industry has exploded on Ibiza, as well as demand for local produce. The Beekeepers’ Union of Ibiza has therefore envisaged a justified registration as a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) for Ibiza honey which would add value to a sought-after local product.
The Balearic frame hive
Summary : The developments which led to the use of mobile frame hives and the gradual abandonment of the old frameless hives, in which the bees worked in a practically empty environment, were the consequence of research and promotion in diff erent parts of the world, and in particular thanks to the work of Dr Juan Garau Salva in the Balearic Islands. A Balearic beehive, a frame hive ideally suited to local conditions, was presented at a meeting of the Diputación Provincial de Baleares in 1949 and was produced locally. Examples were introduced to the other islands to be used there and adapted to local conditions if necessary.
About Bees and Men in the pre-Christian Era
Summary: For several thousand years humans and bees have lived side by side. This story is a journey from the Kalahari to Egypt, and to Borneo. It is a voyage through ancient times, going from 9000 BC to 1000 BC. This seven-chapter tale can be read like a cartoon strip.
Beekeeping in the time of the Iberians
Summary: Between the end of the Bronze Age, around the sixth century B.C., and the Roman colonisation, the Iberians, whose domain extended from Andalusia to southern Languedoc, created a separate culture by dint of borrowing from the Greeks, the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians. The demand for honey increased in line with the volume of trade, and a whole new specialisation appeared whose traces archaeologists are still discovering, mainly in the Levant: ceramic horizontal hives, long knives to facilitate the harvest, special funnels for filling vases, and vases with rims used for preserving honey among other foodstuff s, which were in use in people’s kitchens during the last century.
Beekeepers in the Gâtinais, as seen by Henri Louis Hamet in the 1850s
Summary: During the nineteenth century, for a long time, beekeepers (mouchards) were able to harvest the famous sainfoin honey in great quantities on their extensive territory.
This honey was greatly appreciated on the Parisian markets and even further afield, in England and Belgium. These beekeepers did not practice the colony-choking technique, but their very aggressive methods, which aimed to produce a large amount of honey, were not calculated to encourage the survival of bee colonies.
« Beekeeping Axioms » ; extract from the Review of Beekeepers, Honey and Beeswax Sellers, S.C.A. (Central Beekeeping Society) 1863 « On the Price of Swarms » ; extract from the Bulletin of the Société Romande d’Apiculture (French-speaking Swiss Beekeeping Society), 1948
Summary: During the nineteenth century beekeeping really took off . Beekeepers soon felt the need to get together in societies to share their knowledge and to pass on their expertise to beginners. It was at this period that the fi rst beekeeping courses were created. In France the S.C.A., Société Centrale d’Apiculture, was founded in 1855, followed a few years later by the S.A.R., Société Romande d’Apiculture, a Swiss society created in 1876. Two short texts published in their respective bulletins bring us advice full of wisdom and not devoid of a touch of humour.