In Antigua and Barbuda, beekeeping began in 1945 as an informal industry when people began harvesting honey from bees that were living in trees. [1]
After the beginning of informal beekeeping in 1945, in 1982 the Meals from Millions/Freedom from Hunger Foundation offered the first beekeeping programme in Antigua. This programme offered both technical and financial assistance to the few beekeepers that were located on the island. Hank Theones facilitated the beekeepers' training process and demonstrated the removal of hives from houses and trees. [1]
Prior to the beginning of the beekeeping project in Barbuda, it was commonly believed that the island did not have any native bee species. Following a trip to Barbuda in 1987, during which it was checked to see if there was enough food for bees to forage and council members were met with, it was determined that the island did not. More than a dozen beekeepers were educated on the island of Barbuda, and more than twelve beehives were shipped there. [1]
Hurricane Irma made landfall on Antigua and Barbuda on September 6, 2017. The eye of the Category 5 hurricane passed directly over Barbuda, causing catastrophic damage, particularly to its agricultural and fishing sectors, including crops, livestock, bees, infrastructure, and equipment. Despite the destruction, recovery efforts have focused on rebuilding more sustainable and climate-resilient food and agricultural systems. Four years after the hurricane, an agro-industrial facility was established as a public-private partnership, integrating production, processing, storage, packaging, and marketing operations. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Barbuda Affairs adopted the "Green Island" concept to guide the redevelopment of Barbuda’s agriculture sector. This initiative emphasizes organic agriculture, food safety compliance, water-efficient farming, intensive small ruminant systems, value-chain development, and biodiversity preservation. [2]
Collaborative efforts between the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) have supported this recovery process. These organizations aim to build the capacity of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to enhance food security, livelihoods, and climate resilience. From August 9–11, 2021, a training program titled "Training for the Honey Value Chain in Antigua and Barbuda" was held in Barbuda. Conducted by local consultants from IICA with virtual support from the FAO Sub-regional Office, the program focused on building capacity among new beekeepers, particularly in producing logwood honey. The training covered various aspects of the honey value chain, including production practices, business management, marketing, and distribution. Participants were provided with start-up apiary kits containing essential equipment. [2]
Interviews with local apiculturists were conducted during the program to gather data on the local honey market. The mentorship component of the program, supported by the Antigua Beekeepers Cooperative and senior Barbuda beekeepers, ensures ongoing guidance and support for new beekeepers. Further training sessions in the honey value chain were conducted in Antigua from August 19–31, 2021, involving 20 established and new beekeepers, along with technical staff from the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries, and Barbuda Affairs. [2]
In 2018, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) donated $5,000 worth of equipment to support the beekeeping industry in Antigua and Barbuda. During a ceremony at the Ministry of Agriculture, the equipment was presented to Arthur Nibbs, Minister of Agriculture. Approximately $3,000 worth of the materials were designated for Barbuda to aid local farmers as part of ongoing efforts to rebuild the island’s agricultural sector, which suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Since the hurricane, IICA and CARDI have contributed over $200,000 in materials and labor to agricultural recovery initiatives, focusing on plant-based agriculture, livestock, and beekeeping. Craig Thomas, an IICA national specialist, noted that the organizations continued to monitor and evaluate their efforts through workshops and capacity-building sessions in Barbuda. Additionally, CARDI representative Paul Lucas highlighted the uniqueness of Barbuda-produced honey, describing it as a product with distinctive quality and market potential. CARDI has also undertaken the development of specific honey labels to support local branding efforts. Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, caused severe destruction across Barbuda, leading to the temporary evacuation of its entire population. [3]
In 2022, the headquarters of the Beekeepers Cooperative in Belmont underwent significant improvements funded by a US$16,000 grant from the Australian High Commission. The grant was secured through a collaboration between the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Ministry of Agriculture. Craig Thomas, IICA’s National Specialist, explained in an interview with the Antigua Observer that the initial project proposal, submitted in 2019 in partnership with Brent Georges, President of the Beekeepers Cooperative, was unsuccessful. However, the revised proposal was resubmitted and approved the following year. The upgraded facility aims to provide beekeepers with affordable access to essential resources, including an extraction facility, which was previously unavailable locally. Prior to this initiative, many beekeepers had to travel abroad to access proper honey extraction facilities. [4]
In 2018, the Antigua and Barbuda Beekeeping Cooperative partnered with the Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development (GARD) Centre, the Australian Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Mill Reef Fund to train young people in beekeeping, beeswax soap production, and bee box construction. Twenty-two participants enrolled in a ten-week training program covering topics such as hive management, swarm collection, beeswax product creation, and business management. According to June Jackson, acting executive director of the GARD Centre, the initiative aimed to empower participants to establish their own businesses in apiculture and related industries. She highlighted the commitment of trainers to provide ongoing support to participants beyond the workshop’s completion. The program was expected to boost the local beekeeping industry, which had faced challenges from Hurricane Irma and land-clearing activities that disrupted hive construction. The Mill Reef Fund and the Australian Embassy contributed funding for essential resources, including beekeeping suits, lumber for bee boxes, trainer fees, and other equipment. The workshop sought to address industry setbacks while fostering entrepreneurship among young people in Antigua and Barbuda. [5]
| Gender | Age 15-25 | Age 25-35 | Age 35-45 | Age 45-55 | Age 55-65 | Age 65 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Male | 3 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
It is estimated that there are between 460 and 480 colonies that are managed by members of the Antigua and Barbuda Beekeepers Cooperative. It is estimated that another 150 hives are managed by people who are not members. [1] The Longstroth Hive, which is utilized in Antigua and Barbuda despite the presence of drought, typically produces a yield of sixty to seventy pounds (five and a half to four gallons) annually. Under typical circumstances, the local beehives typically produce between 100 and 120 pounds of honey (10-11 gal). [1]
A beehive is an enclosed structure where some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young. Though the word beehive is used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature distinguishes nest from hive. Nest is used to discuss colonies that house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed. The term hive is used to describe an artificial/man-made structure to house a honey bee nest. Several species of Apis live in colonies. But for honey production, the western honey bee and the eastern honey bee are the main species kept in hives.
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping.
Beekeeping is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus Apis are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as Melipona stingless bees are also kept. Beekeepers keep bees to collect honey and other products of the hive: beeswax, propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly. Other sources of beekeeping income include pollination of crops, raising queens, and production of package bees for sale. Bee hives are kept in an apiary or "bee yard".
An apiary is a location where beehives of honey bees are kept. Apiaries come in many sizes and can be rural or urban depending on the honey production operation. Furthermore, an apiary may refer to a hobbyist's hives or those used for commercial or educational usage. It can also be a wall-less, roofed structure, similar to a gazebo which houses hives, or an enclosed structure with an opening that directs the flight path of the bees.
In beekeeping, a Langstroth hive is any vertically modular beehive that has the key features of vertically hung frames, a bottom board with entrance for the bees, boxes containing frames for brood and honey and an inner cover and top cap to provide weather protection. In a Langstroth hive, the bees build honeycomb into frames, which can be moved with ease. The frames are designed to prevent bees from attaching honeycombs where they would either connect adjacent frames, or connect frames to the walls of the hive. The movable frames allow the beekeeper to manage the bees in a way which was formerly impossible.
Langstroth Cottage is a historic building on the Western College campus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 22, 1976. The cottage, built in 1856, is now the home for the Oxford office of the Butler County Regional Transit Authority. It was purchased for Beekeeper L. L. Langstroth in 1859, and he lived there for the next 28 years, conducting research and breeding honey bees.
Honey extraction is the central process in beekeeping of removing honey from honeycomb so that it is isolated in a pure liquid form.
Commercial Beekeeping in the United States dates back to the 1860s.
Beekeeping in New Zealand is reported to have commenced in 1839 with the importing of two skep hives by Mary Bumby, a missionary. It has since become an established industry as well a hobby activity.
Beekeeping is first recorded in Ireland in the seventh century. It has seen a surge in popularity in modern times, with the membership of beekeeping associations exceeding 4,500. The median average number of hives per beekeeper is three hives, while the average honey output per hive is 11.4 kg. The growth in the practice has occurred despite increased pressures on bees and beekeepers due to habitat loss, parasites and diseases, which has contributed to deaths approaching half of all honeybees in Ireland.
Beekeeping in the United Kingdom is the maintenance of bee colonies by humans within the United Kingdom. It is a significant commercial activity that provides those involved with honey, beeswax, royal jelly, queen bees, propolis, flower pollen and bee pollen. Honeybees also provide pollination services to orchards and a variety of seed crops.
The Apiary Laboratory, more often referred to as the Apiary, is a research laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Originally built for the study of honey bees and apiculture, today it is primarily used to study native pollinator species and the chemicals and pathogens impacting their populations. This academic building is unique in that it is credited as being the first in the United States to be erected exclusively for the teaching of beekeeping.
Bees for Development is an international charity working to alleviate poverty through beekeeping. Beekeeping contributes to supporting sustainable livelihoods in poor and remote communities; honey bees provide an essential ecosystem service. Bees for Development currently runs projects in Uganda, Zanzibar, Ethiopia and Kyrgyzstan. Its offices are in Monmouth, South Wales.
Urban beekeeping is the practice of keeping bee colonies (hives) in towns and cities. It is also referred to as hobby beekeeping or backyard beekeeping. Bees from city apiaries are said to be "healthier and more productive than their country cousins". As pollinators, bees also provide environmental and economic benefits to cities. They are essential in the growth of crops and flowers.
A Honey Queen Program is a local, state, or national program which annually selects young women to become the spokespeople for the honey and beekeeping industries in the area, state, or region. The national program, the American Honey Queen Program, is facilitated through the sponsorship of the American Beekeeping Federation and involves a lengthy competition, the winners of which travel around the United States and beyond promoting the honey and beekeeping industries and educating the public on the importance of honey bees, beekeeping, and honey.
[[File:Honey & Bee Museum, Ooty DSC00586.JPG|thumb|Honey and Bee Museum in Ooty]
Beekeeping in Australia is a commercial industry with around 25,000 registered beekeepers owning over 670,000 hives in 2018. Most are found in the eastern states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania as well as the south-west of Western Australia.
Honey bee starvation is a problem for bees and beekeepers. Starvation may be caused by unfavorable weather, disease, long distance transportation or depleting food reserve. Over-harvesting of honey is the foremost cause for scarcity as bees are not left with enough of a honey store, though weather, disease, and disturbance can also cause problems. Backyard beekeepers face more colony losses in the winter than in the summer, but for commercial beekeepers there is not much variation in loss by season. Starvation may be avoided by effective monitoring of hives and disease prevention measures. Starvation can amplify the toxic effect of pesticides bees are exposed to.
Bee removal is the process of removing bees from a location. Professional services exist for this purpose. Since the honey bee is considered to be the most beneficial of all insect species, and bee colonies have potential economic value, professional bee removal typically involves a beekeeper transferring them to a new location where they can be cared for and used for crop pollination and for production of honey and beeswax. As such, bee removal has characteristics both of pest control and of beekeeping. Live bee removal or saving the bees can be accomplished by a local beekeeper who will then either keep the bees, sell them, or simply help whoever is requesting the bee removal to keep them in a hive box. However, not all beekeepers provide removal services. In bee removal, a bee vac can be used.
Agriculture has been an important industry in Antigua and Barbuda since it was colonised in the 1600s. Today, less than five per cent of the population works in agriculture, and agriculture only contributes to 2.1% of the GDP. The primary crops exported by Antigua and Barbuda are bananas, coconuts, and other tropical fruits and vegetables. 20.5% of the country's land is used for agriculture.