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The European honey bee that we see on the flowers in our gardens is not native to the Americas. The first hives of honey bees came to Virginia aboard a ship in the spring of 1622 (see Figure 1-6). The early European settlers made good use of the honey and the beeswax that the colonies produced. The colonists also brought with them specific plants for the bees to pollinate. More bee colonies arrived on ships in the following years, and swarms from these original hives proliferated as feral bee colonies were established. But it was not until 1853 that the honey bees made their way to the west coast. Today, the estimated number of “managed” beehives in America is approaching 3 million colonies. (See Chapter 6 for the top ten honey-producing states in America.)

Illustration by Howland Blackiston

FIGURE 1-6: The honey bee, so familiar in the Americas today, is not native to this part of the world. The first honey bees were brought to Virginia by the early colonists in 1622.