18th Century Bees and Beekeeping
Additional Resources
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Bees in the Colonies – transcript of a podcast interview with apiarist Bill Krebs, a volunteer beekeeper at Colonial Williamsburg
Excerpted articles on bees and bee keeping from various English encyclopaedias including the 1778 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica
Beekeeping in the British Isles from 1700 to 1750
The History of Beekeeping in English Gardens
Early American Gardens: Beehive
History of Beekeeping in the United States
Last updated: Jan 5, 2024
Elsewhere on this site, see links to 18th century primary sources on brewing mead and making candles, and a page on beehives and bee-skeps in the 12th-16th centuries.
- The True Amazons: or, The Monarchy of Bees (1713)
- Bee-hives in Dictionarium Rusticum, Urbanicum & Botanicum (1726); he references a 17th-century work by Samuel Hartlib, The Common-Wealth of Bees
- Instructions for Managing Bees (1733)
- Of Bees in The Modern Husbandman (1744)
- Of Bees in Of Husbandry (1745)
- The Practical Bee-Master (1747)
- The Method of ordering Bees at the Mountain of Hymettus in Greece (a Place famous for excellent Honey) and which might be practiced with as good Success in England; and Caution about managing Bees, a letter to the editor; The Gentleman’s Magazine and Historical Chronicle (1748)
- Concerning Bees, and their Method of gathering Wax and Honey, The London Magazine or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer (1751)
- Extract of M. Duchamel’s Observations on Bees, read at the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, April 24, 1754 in The Gentleman’s Magazine
- Bees in Observations in Husbandry (1757)
- Of Bees in A Compleat Body Of Husbandry (1758)
- Agriculture et économie rustique – Mouches à miel, ruches, Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (1762)
- A Treatise on the Management of Bees (1768)
- A Complete Guide for the Management of Bees Throughout the Year (1780)
- The Experienced Bee-Keeper (1783)
- The Bee-Master’s Companion and Assistant (1789)
- The Antient Bee-Master’s Farewell (1796)
