Beekeeping in India

Beekeeping in India has been mentioned in ancient Vedas and Buddhist scriptures. Rock paintings of Mesolithic era found in Madhya Pradesh depict honey collection activities. Scientific methods of beekeeping, however, started only in the late 19th century, although records of taming honeybees and using in warfare are seen in the early 19th century. After Indian independence, beekeeping was promoted through various rural developmental programs. Five species of bees that are commercially important for natural honey and beeswax production are found in India.

Quotes

• The collection of honey is depicted in three paintings at Pachmarhi and one at Bhimbetka. A painting in the Jambudwip shelter at Pachmarhi shows a man driving out bees and a woman approaching the beehive with a pot. Both are standing on ladders. In a second Pachmarhi painting at Imlikhoh shelter a woman is driving away the bees. In a third painting at Sonbhadra shelter two men climbing a scaffold are surrounded by bees. The painting at Bhimbetka shows a man touching a beehive with a round-ended stick. The man holds a basket on his back and appears to be suspended by a rope. There are three men below him, including one standing on the shoulders of another man.
  • (MATHPAL 1985:182). . MATHPAL 1985: The Hunter-Gatherer Way of Life Depicted in the Mesolithic Rock Paintings of Central India. Mathpal, Yashodhar. pp.177-183, in "Recent Advances in Indo-Pacific Prehistory: Proceedings of the International Symposium held at Poona, December 19-21, 1978". ed V N Misra, Peter Bellwood. E.J.Brill, Leiden, Nederland, 1985.