Wild-hive Beekeeping

the original form of beekeeping, which is based on the keeping of bees in the hollows of trees in order to obtain honey. Either natural hollows were used, or thick trees were hollowed out, with several hollows in each tree at a height of from 4 to 15 meters. To strengthen the honeycombs inside the hollows, crosspieces or skewers were installed. Honey was obtained through long, narrow boreholes called dolzhei. Wild-hive beekeeping was already well known in ancient Rus’ and was one of the most important features of its economy. With the development of farming and the clearing of forests, wild-hive beekeeping gave way to apiary beekeeping. Hollowed-out trees with wild, central Russian forest bees have been preserved in the Bashkir Forest Reserve, RSFSR.