As A Friend Of Ours;

is thinking of keeping bees next year,

I thought I would post this, beekeeping has been carried out in China since at least the 2nd century AD, and roughly half of the world’s supply of honey comes from the Asian country, but few know that over 80% of the native bee population is now extinct. The introduction of the European honey bee (Apis Mellifera) is considered the main cause of the drastic decline of native Chinese bees. It has brought viral diseases, has been known to attack Chinese honeybee hives, the photograph above is of the cliff-hanging hives of the Shennongjia Nature Reserve, which make up one of the few protected sanctuaries in the country, photograph Facebook,

the 700 wooden boxes are perched on the side of a steep cliff wall, about 4,000 feet above sea level, because the hives are so densely packed together, in order to reach the higher ones, beekeepers have to use the lower boxes as steps, while trying to keep their balance. The ones near the top can only be accessed by rope, from the top of the cliff. It’s a difficult task, but a necessary one, as the location of the beehives in an inaccessible place is meant to protect their inhabitants and their honey from bears, thankfully in Beckenham there are no bears!