Tree beekeeping

Tree beekeeping (Ukrainian bortnytstvo, Polish bartnictwo) is an old forest craft: bees live in tree hives or log hives in forest areas, and the beekeeper tends wild bees nesting in trees. In 2020 UNESCO inscribed the Tree beekeeping culture of Poland and Belarus on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

UNESCO describes tree beekeepers as aiming to recreate the primeval living conditions of bees in tree hives without disrupting their natural life cycle. The goal is not to raise honey output, which sets them apart from ordinary beekeepers, and they keep learning from swarms and the natural environment.

In Ukraine, according to the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine, bortnytstvo became established in the 10th–12th centuries and lasted until the late 18th century, when forests were felled on a large scale; the growth of distilling and the sugar industry finished it off. In a few forest areas of Volyn and Polissia it survived into the 20th century. Customary law and the Lithuanian Statute protected it.

Why this matters to you. Tree beekeeping is the stage from which log and frame beekeeping grew, and also a living tradition now protected as cultural heritage. It shows that beekeeping does not always aim for the largest possible honey yield.