Beekeeping is an increasingly popular career, hobby, and even a profession these days because of how satisfying it is to care for the world’s most amazing insects (in my opinion, anyway!). But while we often refer to this profession as “beekeeping,” not everyone knows the official name of beekeeping. So what is the official name of beekeeping or beekeeping?
The official name of beekeeping is Apiculture. It takes its name from the genus of bees, Apis. In addition to “culture”, we also have beekeeping. Thus, the dictionary definition of beekeeping is “the scientific method of beekeeping”.
Apiculture is not a word you hear very often because it’s much easier to say “apiary” or “beekeeping.” Nonetheless, it remains the official name for those who practice beekeepers. If you think beekeeping is fun enough, you can even call yourself a beekeeper in the future.
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What Is Honey Bee Farming Called?
We all love honey, and we tend to incorporate this sweet, natural, organic nectar into a variety of beverages and dishes. Most of us know that honey comes from bees. But of course, honey sellers don’t just get honey from random beehives they see in the wild. Instead, they get their honey from bee farms that are only used to produce honey and other bee products such as beeswax.
Honey bee farming is becoming more and more popular these days because it is something that many people can do with their free time. So even if someone works full time, he or she can start a bee farm and become a beekeeper, since it won’t take much time to take care of some hives. Of course, the profit you get from selling honey and other related products and the satisfaction you get from caring for these unique and fascinating insects also attracts people to beekeeping.
Whether you are a part-time beekeeper or a professional beekeeper, this job is a very satisfying field. But have you ever wondered what honey beekeeping is actually called? Does beekeeping still have an official name?
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Most people who are still outsiders in the field of beekeeping may often refer to this endeavor or field as “beekeeping” or “beekeeping.” In fact, whether you are familiar with beekeeping or not, the more popular name for the field is actually Apiculture.
But did you know that beekeeping actually has an official name? Yes, the official name for the field of bee keeping and care is not as widely used in beekeeping, but it is still the official name for the field.
So the official name of the beekeeping industry directly under the beekeeping industry is actually apiculture. The word apiculture comes from two roots, apis and culture or culture. Apis is a Latin word and is the name of the genus to which the bees belong, and culture or cultivation basically means to care or reproduce. If you add the two together, we get apiculture.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary even defines apiculture as “beekeeping on a particularly large scale.” So if you are dealing with bees for the purpose of commercial sale, you are basically in apiculture. And since most people who take care of bees are actually raising or raising bees (since all other bees don’t produce honey), the field of honey beekeeping is also apiculture.
A fancy way of referring to the term beekeeping in relation to people working in the field is beekeeper. So if you’re a beekeeping person, you can actually call yourself a beekeeper.
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What Is The Study Of Beekeeping Called?
But what about those who study beekeeping or just bees? Does beekeeping or research bees still mean apiculture?
So for those wondering about this, the answer is no. Honeybee researchers are actually dealing with melitology, also known as apicology. The word comes from the Greek word melitta, which means bee. If you use the Latin word for bee, you get the word apicology, which essentially means the study of bees.
We can also dig deeper into bees. There is a branch of melitology, or apicology, devoted to the study of honeybees, not just honeybees in general. We call this subdivision apiology.
Basically, the study of bees or bees in general is not the same as the art of beekeeping. Apiology or beekeeping is the field that focuses on the study of bees and even beekeeping. At the same time, apicultureis more focused on raising and caring for bees, rather than studying them. In a sense, beekeeping becomes a practical aspect of beekeeping because those who care for the bees can do it thanks to research into the nature and habits of bees.
What Is Another Name For A Beekeeper?
While “beekeeper” is a term commonly used to describe someone who works in the field of bee breeding or care, there are a few other names to describe someone who works in this profession.
As we have already mentioned, a beekeeper is someone who is involved in the field of apiculturist. We could also call these people beekeepers, which basically means the same thing, but a little longer than apiarist. But the non-technical term for a beekeeper is a “honey farmer.”
Is Beekeeping Considered Farming?
If you notice, we refer to beekeeping as beekeeping as an alternative description. This is because beekeepers often do this to collect honey from bees. But does beekeeping really count as agriculture?
Yes, beekeeping is actually agriculture. Beekeeping, in its definition and practical application, falls under agriculture. In fact, the federal government even considers beekeeping as agriculture if you look at the regulations and tax laws that govern the field of beekeeping.
But let’s assume what is the dictionary definition of agriculture. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines agriculture as “the science, art, or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock, and to varying degrees, preparing and selling the resulting products.”
So if we combine the definition of agriculture with what we know about beekeeping, we can say that bees are farm animals, especially since the National Organic Standards Council includes bees in the umbrella definition of farm animals. As beekeeping includes and involves the preparation and marketing of honey and other similar honey-related products, it falls under the definition of agriculture.
In short, by definition and practice, people who work in beekeeping are also farmers. This is a different type of farming than the usual type of farming you might imagine when you hear the word “farm”. Nonetheless, you should know very well that beekeeping is still in the field of agriculture or farming.
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The Role Of Beekeeping In Agriculture?
We’ve already discussed that beekeeping is still essentially agriculture, and if you look at the definition of agriculture and apply the same definition to beekeeping, it’s largely considered agriculture. But did you know that beekeeping also plays an important role in agriculture?
Bees are the best pollinators in the world and are often called the most important insects in the world because they are so important in pollinating plants. The reason for this is that bees are very active when jumping from one plant to another, while carrying the pollen from those plants as they themselves collect pollen and nectar from a variety of different plants. As a result, they unknowingly pollinate different plants, allowing those plants to reproduce.
In fact, bees are so important to agriculture that the FDA admits that more than 90 crops grown in the United States depend on bees for pollination. Essentially, this means that bees are partly responsible for feeding Americans, and perhaps people in other parts of the world.
For this reason, many different farming communities actually rely on beekeepers for pollination, borrowing their hives so they can help increase crop yields and produce more crops in the future. So if you think beekeeping is all about the production and sale of honey and other related products, know that this endeavor is not just that sweet nectar, it actually plays a role in the overall plan. This is why bees are considered to be the most important insects in the world.
Beekeepers can earn substantial additional income by renting bees to farmers! Of course, if you live in an agricultural area of ​​the US!
