Читать книгу Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner - Группа авторов - Страница 19

Scientists recently discovered the lipid residues of ancient beeswax inside the earthen pottery vessels of Neolithic farmers, which suggests that the origin of domestication of honey bees dates back to the onset of agriculture (Roffet‐Salque et al. 2015). The long association between humans and bees (Figure 1.1), with mankind harnessing honey bees for food, medicine, and spiritual wellness, can be summed up in a single word: beekeeper. In this book, we introduce a new term to the English language: bee doctor. Etymologists, who study word metamorphosis, follow how the use of particular words gradually evolve in our language – e.g. from bee keeper, to bee‐keeper, and finally to beekeeper. Just as the “honey bee” is spelled as two separate words because it is a true bee, we will likewise separate “bee” and “doctor” since bee veterinarians are true doctors in every sense of the word. We work from single bee to whole colony, from individual cell to multicellular organism, and from microenvironment to ecosystem. Given the urgent call for modern Homo sapiens to reverse the anthropogenic impacts on pollinators everywhere, including our sacred Apis mellifera, we propose adoption of “bee doctor” without delay. Humans have been “keeping” bees for thousands of years, so we now have the word “beekeeper.” Only by forging a close connection between human beings and honey bees in all matters relating to their health, do we stand a chance to save one of earth's most industrious species – the one who gives us food, health, and happiness, and was idolized on the walls of Egyptian tombs. Perhaps someday we will even have the word “beedoctor.”