Honey has been a prized commodity from ancient times. For many, it was the sole source of sugar in the diet. It was often used for religious purposes, as medicinal ointment and fermented to make an alcoholic drink.

Wild honey was once the only kind available. Bee cultivation, or apiculture, became a well-developed craft by the second millennium b.c. in Egypt. Bees were kept in pottery or in bark. The honey was often used in bartering as well as for local consumption. Bee culture was also practiced in Greece and Asia Minor.

The first true manmade beehive was invented in 1789 by Swiss naturalist Francois Huber. It contained movable frames that opened in book-like fashion. A primer comb was added; the bees did the rest of the work. Further improvements were made during the 1800s, including hives that used a synthetic comb foundation. By the 1880s, enough had...