Traditional Honey Beekeeping in Turkey

The aim of this paper is to review traditional beekeeping in Turkey. Beekeeping is a rapidly developing part of agriculture, as it is worldwide. It provides a natural balance to the maintenance of agricultural production. Turkey has awide range of climatic and natural features and possesses millions of bee ( Apis mellifera anatoliaca) colonies with a high genetic diversity. The wide range of climate environment is a great potential for bee keeping and honey production. It is said that 75% of honey plant species and varieties are in Turkey. In different regions there are plenty of honey plants which flower at different times, allowing more production than usual for bee-keeping. Turkey is currently a major country for bee-keeping for two reasons: first, bee colonies have increased in number in recent years; secondly, modern bee hives have become greater in number. Methods of bee keeping are generally traditional, and there are a few professional and migratory bee keepers among the total. In this study, this traditional bee keeping is reviewed in the context of different regions and bee breeds.