Honey Bees in America
Introduction:
Honey bees and America have been intertwined since its discovery, prior to existing colonial establishments America was dubbed, based on biblical extensions of European ideals, as the land of milk and honey. This advertisement coupled with the British socio-political metaphor for colonization have rooted the origins of America with bees. As America expanded the ideological connotations of honeybees changed from a sacred notion to a secular industrial one. The honey bee and the hive became a predominant model for the idealized industrial notions of growing America. As the nation grew from colony to independent power the honeybee grew to pervade into every aspect of society from drink, to leisure activity, to dietary necessity. It's importance to American society can be traced through their social, political, and religious connections.
Honey bees and America have been intertwined since its discovery, prior to existing colonial establishments America was dubbed, based on biblical extensions of European ideals, as the land of milk and honey. This advertisement coupled with the British socio-political metaphor for colonization have rooted the origins of America with bees. As America expanded the ideological connotations of honeybees changed from a sacred notion to a secular industrial one. The honey bee and the hive became a predominant model for the idealized industrial notions of growing America. As the nation grew from colony to independent power the honeybee grew to pervade into every aspect of society from drink, to leisure activity, to dietary necessity. It's importance to American society can be traced through their social, political, and religious connections.
The Hive as a Colonization Model
Early seventeenth century England was in state of disorder as Queen Elizabeth I's successors were ineffectual dealing with social discontent. As the population in England swelled there was significant strain on resources without adequate mitigating circumstances. This left England with a significant proportion of marginalized poor whom were labeled unfavorably and viewed by the upper classes as immoral, idle, and likely to revolt. The fear of revolt in these times were palpable and left many of those in power looking for a way to control those they saw as threatening and dangerous to upper "active" classes of society. A noted practice of the 1600's was to look towards nature, and through it, for parallels and explanations of phenomenon. Dr. Revered Charles Butler in his Feminine Monarchie (1609) provided the influential example and metaphor for colonization. Butler, the Father of English Beekeeping, was one of the first to correctly categorize (mostly) the social organization of bees in the hive. His model of the hive was lead by an omnipotent queen, self sacrificing workers who virtuously did their duty, and lazy drones who were thrust from the hive in times of hardship. Politicians, clerics, and philosophers drew on this biological model to provide a course of action.
The idle poor became analogous with drones, and as England became overcrowded it was apparent that the drones would need to hive off or swarm to the New World.
The idle poor became analogous with drones, and as England became overcrowded it was apparent that the drones would need to hive off or swarm to the New World.
"Nature teacheth bees to doe so, when as the hive is too full, they seek abroad for new dwellings: So when the hive of the Common-wealth is so full, that Tradesmen cannot live one by another, but date up one another, in this case, it is lawful to remove." -John Cotton (Horn, 11)
According to Karen Ordahl Kupperman the beehive as a model for colonization was particularly effective because it was transmutable, and it addressed multiple issues with colonization. For colonization to be successful, based on the ideology of Prominent English men of the 1600's, the members needed to band together, under the leadership of a "master" who could also effectively control drone like qualities, with strict laws (Kupperman, 275). The hive offered just such a model, the worker bee worked diligently and relentlessly for the good of the hive, the queen bee was seemingly omnipotent, and the drone drain was alleviated and controlled by workers and systematic forced emigration. Kupperman quotes Captain John Smith and his Description of New England (1616),
"If the little Ant, and the sillie Bee seek by their diligence the good of their Commonwealth; much more ought Man. If they punish the drones and sting them steales their Labour; then blame not Man. Little hony hath that hive, where there are more Drones then Bees: and miserable is that Land, where more are idle then well imployed"( Kupperman, 275).
Early Colonial Beekeeping
Early attempts to ship bees to the colonies failed, as the ships ventured off course and landed in Bermuda. It is not until the 1620's that honeybees are successfully sent to the colonies. During transportation the bees where kept on the decks of ships in traditional skeps that were located at the rear on top of a platform underneath bolted crates. This ensured that both passengers and crew members could go about their business without unwanted interruption. (Horn, 36)
Colonial Beekeeping was done through four main mediums, these included Bee gums, Bee trees, honey hunting, and straw skeps.
Bee Gums: In the eastern United States, especially in the southeast, sections of hollow trees were used until the 20th century. These were called "gums" because they often were from black gum trees. Sections of the hollow trees were set upright in "bee yards" or apiaries. Sometimes sticks or crossed sticks were placed under a board cover to give an attachment for the honeycomb. As with skeps, harvest of honey from these destroyed the colony.
Bee Trees: Often times, farmers would keep track of the trees on their property which had beehives. Taking care of them, and insuring they were protected, the farmers were able to extract honey and wax when the time came. Finding bee trees was often hard, as most bee trees were spread across the land, allowing the bee colonies to foliage a wider area.
Honey Hunting: Honey hunting was very common in the United States. Instead of raising bees, hunters would go out in the woods and search for beehives and take the honey. This was often a long and hard task, that could result in swarming and stings.
Straw Skeps: Skeps, which are baskets placed open-end-down, have been used for about 2000 years. Skeps were originally made with wicker and plastered with dung and mud in the Middle Ages. In the United states, grass, straw, and pliable wood was used to make the skeps. There is no internal structure within the skep to provide internal structure, so a colony must produce their own honeycomb and attach it to the inside of the skep.Skeps have two disadvantages; beekeepers cannot inspect the comb for diseases and pests, and honey removal is not easy – often resulting in the destruction of the entire colony.
Colonial Beekeeping was done through four main mediums, these included Bee gums, Bee trees, honey hunting, and straw skeps.
Bee Gums: In the eastern United States, especially in the southeast, sections of hollow trees were used until the 20th century. These were called "gums" because they often were from black gum trees. Sections of the hollow trees were set upright in "bee yards" or apiaries. Sometimes sticks or crossed sticks were placed under a board cover to give an attachment for the honeycomb. As with skeps, harvest of honey from these destroyed the colony.
Bee Trees: Often times, farmers would keep track of the trees on their property which had beehives. Taking care of them, and insuring they were protected, the farmers were able to extract honey and wax when the time came. Finding bee trees was often hard, as most bee trees were spread across the land, allowing the bee colonies to foliage a wider area.
Honey Hunting: Honey hunting was very common in the United States. Instead of raising bees, hunters would go out in the woods and search for beehives and take the honey. This was often a long and hard task, that could result in swarming and stings.
Straw Skeps: Skeps, which are baskets placed open-end-down, have been used for about 2000 years. Skeps were originally made with wicker and plastered with dung and mud in the Middle Ages. In the United states, grass, straw, and pliable wood was used to make the skeps. There is no internal structure within the skep to provide internal structure, so a colony must produce their own honeycomb and attach it to the inside of the skep.Skeps have two disadvantages; beekeepers cannot inspect the comb for diseases and pests, and honey removal is not easy – often resulting in the destruction of the entire colony.
Revolutionary Bees
During the Revolution honeybees as a model became applicable to the pernicious tax collectors of King George III, and beyond a natural social model of the tumultuous times bees where even used according to legend as a premature version of biological warfare or "bee-fare". In order to support yet another war on France, England issued multiple taxes on the colonies including the Townsend and Stamp Acts. These acts are well known for being pre-cursing causes of the war, however they are less renown as dually being connected to honeybees. The tax collectors were seen by the colonists as lazy, fat, and skimming of the hardworking citizens. Multiple writers of the time, used Drones in comparison with these agents of the crown, "Americans labeled the officials 'drones' who 'did no work of their own, but lived off the work of others" (Withington, 44). Drones were likened to the tax collectors because they both represented resources leeches that are merely drains on their respective societies. As in the natural world (the hive), and the colonies the drones were eliminated from society as the Revolution took place.
During the Revolution there are legends about how bees served their country. According to Tammy Horn, a young Quaker girl named Charity Crabtree was alerted of the imminent attack, and was asked to deliver the message to General George Washington. The wounded soldier who had delivered this message collapsed as a band of Red Coats descended upon the girl. Charity then jumped onto her horse and attempted to flee the onslaught of soldiers, realizing she could not outrun them she turned over her bee skeps which then attacked the soldiers. General Washington in then as quoted by Horn as saying that, "It was the cackling geese that saved Rome, but it is the bees that saved America" (Horn, 55).
In legend and public opinion the honeybee was part of the formative moments of our nation. The Revolution is one of, if not the, defining action of our nation. Honeybees are in legend supposed to have saved it, and were used as metaphors to degrade the authority, albeit they had little, of King George III's collector. Amidst the crucible of American identity the honeybee is present and prominent.
During the Revolution there are legends about how bees served their country. According to Tammy Horn, a young Quaker girl named Charity Crabtree was alerted of the imminent attack, and was asked to deliver the message to General George Washington. The wounded soldier who had delivered this message collapsed as a band of Red Coats descended upon the girl. Charity then jumped onto her horse and attempted to flee the onslaught of soldiers, realizing she could not outrun them she turned over her bee skeps which then attacked the soldiers. General Washington in then as quoted by Horn as saying that, "It was the cackling geese that saved Rome, but it is the bees that saved America" (Horn, 55).
In legend and public opinion the honeybee was part of the formative moments of our nation. The Revolution is one of, if not the, defining action of our nation. Honeybees are in legend supposed to have saved it, and were used as metaphors to degrade the authority, albeit they had little, of King George III's collector. Amidst the crucible of American identity the honeybee is present and prominent.
The Honeybee and American Industry
As our new nation formed, the honeybee and more significantly the traditional beehive (the skep) became a symbol (one of many) for the American industrial spirit. The industrious and hardworking worker bees became the natural world's reflection, or icons, for America's unique experiment of meritocracy. Tinker Edwardes states, "that each worker is in herself the perfect evolved presentment of republicanism... The Judgement of one is necessarily the judgement of all. Every problem of daily life, however intricate, is solved by the one device, brought to the fine point of perfection through the experience of countless generations and applied by each to the common want...It would mean entire negation of self in the interest of the common good," (Edwardes, 97-8). Our newly forming republican nation used honeybees and skeps because they were common, had historical roots, and both symbolized the goals of our young nation and an attitude that would best combine labor and the untested waters of democracy. The hive is a model of equality in work, against human avarice and sloth, where success is gained through arduous labor and not inherited as a birth rite. The honeybee as a symbol of virtuous labor, although not originating with America, stuck with the American society. In literature, art, daily speech, state symbols, business, and financially and politically; bees and their skeps were used symbolize the ideal social order in work. (Wilson, 35).
American literature highlights the prominent practice of comparing honeybees to virtuous labor. A play by George Melville Baker, Boston playwright of the 19th century, features honeybees who are encouraged to revolt and rebel against work by the antagonist butterflies. The lines from this play reflect how many Americans internalized the model of work and industry that honeybees provided,
"Labor gives high delight, delight beyond all measure;
Our hive we love so well we'll fill with sweetest treasure;
Labor gives high delight, delight beyond all measure,
O, high delight the hive we love so well" (Baker,70).
The picture this play paints is highly specific, bees represented the necessary organization and division of labor, namely that in American society all worked hard, and unquestioningly, to achieve success for the common good,
"Each has a task, and all together strive
With fruits of "industry" to store the hive,
and keep its motto bright above the door.
No laggards here where all should work and store." (Baker,70).
In art, directly after the Revolution, the skep was used as representation of Colonial industry. The allegorical painting by Joseph Strutt entitled America. To Those Who Wish to Sheathe the Desolating Sword of War (1778) exhibits Industry (carrying a skep) honoring the fallen Revolutionary Soldiers , " America as a woman kneeling to honour the war heroes who had died to free her. Joining her are other classical figures: Peace, with an olive branch; Liberty, with a bell-shaped cap; Plenty; with rich fruits; and Industry, with a beehive, " (Wilson, 34). The painting demonstrates how even in the originating years of our nation honeybees were associated with industry and labor, and likewise that these symbols together where present in America.
American literature highlights the prominent practice of comparing honeybees to virtuous labor. A play by George Melville Baker, Boston playwright of the 19th century, features honeybees who are encouraged to revolt and rebel against work by the antagonist butterflies. The lines from this play reflect how many Americans internalized the model of work and industry that honeybees provided,
"Labor gives high delight, delight beyond all measure;
Our hive we love so well we'll fill with sweetest treasure;
Labor gives high delight, delight beyond all measure,
O, high delight the hive we love so well" (Baker,70).
The picture this play paints is highly specific, bees represented the necessary organization and division of labor, namely that in American society all worked hard, and unquestioningly, to achieve success for the common good,
"Each has a task, and all together strive
With fruits of "industry" to store the hive,
and keep its motto bright above the door.
No laggards here where all should work and store." (Baker,70).
In art, directly after the Revolution, the skep was used as representation of Colonial industry. The allegorical painting by Joseph Strutt entitled America. To Those Who Wish to Sheathe the Desolating Sword of War (1778) exhibits Industry (carrying a skep) honoring the fallen Revolutionary Soldiers , " America as a woman kneeling to honour the war heroes who had died to free her. Joining her are other classical figures: Peace, with an olive branch; Liberty, with a bell-shaped cap; Plenty; with rich fruits; and Industry, with a beehive, " (Wilson, 34). The painting demonstrates how even in the originating years of our nation honeybees were associated with industry and labor, and likewise that these symbols together where present in America.
Financially and politically the image of the industrial honeybee was used by the Continental Congress. They drew on the existing notions of industry that were associated with bees to attempt to attain financial stability. The forty-five dollar bill issued on January 14, 1779 features a seal with skeps and the phrase "SIC FLORET REPUBLICA, or Thus Flourishes the Republic" (Lossig). The seal is an attempt to draw parallels between the successful nature of the hive, and the future success of the American Republic. In oder to connect the success of Americas wealth and honeybees (or skeps) there must have been deep rooted understanding that across the states there would be common Americans who associated bees and skeps as successful and hardworking.
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In addition to the aforementioned ways in which the honeybee was used as an industrial and work symbol (and model), it is also exhibited through many social practices. Americans who worked fervently together quilting, logging, or cooking referred to themselves as bees, (Horn, 31). They were using the honeybee as a symbol to explain how they categorized their work. This work, defined by unity, cooperation, acceptance of position without complaint, and its tasking nature reflected the common representations of honeybees in their hive during the early American experience.
Many businesses, states, and people have used the honeybee or the hive to symbolize industrial and business savvy or skill, "In Salem, Massachusetts, jewelers and mechanics, cabinet-makers and lawyers all chose the beehive for their logo to symbolize the goodness of commerce" (Wilson, 35). Currently 15 out of the fifty states have adopted the honeybee as its state insect due to the industrial symbology of the bee. According to Harpweek, In Philadelphia a local bar named itself the Hive, and all of it's patrons where know as busy bees (harp week).
Socially the honeybee was used as a model for the idealized nature of American work, gone was the drone-like behaviors the English and in its stead was diligent and tireless loyalists to the American model of meritocracy. Writers, politicians, artists, and everyday people alike used bees or skeps to illustrate industrial prowess, and looked to them for examples. John Crévecour in his "Letters From an American Farmer 1735-1813", indicates how people of early America really did look to bees in order to explain surroundings,
Many businesses, states, and people have used the honeybee or the hive to symbolize industrial and business savvy or skill, "In Salem, Massachusetts, jewelers and mechanics, cabinet-makers and lawyers all chose the beehive for their logo to symbolize the goodness of commerce" (Wilson, 35). Currently 15 out of the fifty states have adopted the honeybee as its state insect due to the industrial symbology of the bee. According to Harpweek, In Philadelphia a local bar named itself the Hive, and all of it's patrons where know as busy bees (harp week).
Socially the honeybee was used as a model for the idealized nature of American work, gone was the drone-like behaviors the English and in its stead was diligent and tireless loyalists to the American model of meritocracy. Writers, politicians, artists, and everyday people alike used bees or skeps to illustrate industrial prowess, and looked to them for examples. John Crévecour in his "Letters From an American Farmer 1735-1813", indicates how people of early America really did look to bees in order to explain surroundings,
"It is my bees, however, which afford me the most pleasing and extensive themes; let me look at them when I will, their government, their industry, their quarrels, their passions, always present me with something new."
Honeybees and Religion in America
While not particularly prominent in any one specific religion or particular ritual, honeybees and American religion are connected. It is partially due to the connections with various religions that the non-native honeybee species (apis mellific or European bee) spread so far across the North American landscape, quickly becoming to Native Americans "the White Man's fly". From Shakers, to Moravians, to Free Masons, and Mormons, the specific religious groups and their travel spread honeybees. For example, the Moravians had charters up and down the east coast from Pennsylvania to Georgia, and beyond. As they traveled they took honeybees with them effectively establishing bee populations. The most common uses of the honeybees to these groups were: as the basic dietary supplement, light, trade, and some religious practices. Most Pastors where also beekeepers in order to supply the necessary elements for religious practice, for parish members, diets and income (Horn, 44).
The most common uses of honeybees in American religious practices included songs, examples of proper social actions, and lighting. For example the Shakers, a pacifist group scattered about the East Coast, had hymns which involved bee and they encouraged their members to see themselves as bees serving the divine good. (Horn, 108). Tammy Horn quotes a song entitled "Busy Bee",
The most common uses of honeybees in American religious practices included songs, examples of proper social actions, and lighting. For example the Shakers, a pacifist group scattered about the East Coast, had hymns which involved bee and they encouraged their members to see themselves as bees serving the divine good. (Horn, 108). Tammy Horn quotes a song entitled "Busy Bee",
"Like the little busy bee,
I'll gather sweets continually
From the life giving lovely flowers, which beautify Zion's bowers.
No idle drone within her hive, will ever prosper, ever thrive,
Then seeds of industry I'll sow, that I may reap wherever I go. " (Horn, 107).
America Summary:
Honeybees have a direct linkage with the origins and formation of America. The American colonial landscape was formed with the natural model of honeybees in mind, as both a lesson for the new order and as a justification for it. After the Revolutionary War the honeybee became a model for the perfect republican workers, and was used to draw ideals of stability and industrial success. The general nature of which is reflected in the internalized symbology of the honeybee. The early American people used the bee and the skep to symbolize America's industry, which is reflected in culture. Socially in America the bee was a model for the supposed actions for colonization and work. Financially (or economically), the nation used the symbol to establish legitimacy of work and success. Finally religiously the nation had moderate usage of bees in their practices, but religion and bees are partially response for the widespread habitation of the creatures into the wilderness and additionally their extremely popular usage. The uses of honeybees as symbols for industry and labor continues up through modern America. As show cased by the image to the direct left, bees have even been used in propaganda.
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