An apiary is a location where beehives are kept. The honeybee has never been considered domesticated. However, humans have learned how to manage them for as long as 8,500 years. In ancient Egypt, hives were constructed from moulded mud. Throughout history, these hives have changed to facilitate the management of the honeybee. 

The honeybee is essential to agriculture. In the United States, honeybees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops, including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. After pollination, honey and beeswax are the most important products from an economic standpoint. 

Depending on the season, weather, and availability of nectar and pollen, the size of a honey bee colony varies from 10,000 to 100,000 bees. A typical size colony, made up of about 20,000 bees, collects about 125 pounds of pollen per year. The hive will process this pollen onto “bee bread”. This “bee bread” is the only natural protein source for the honeybees. Pollen is also a lipid (fat) source for honey bees. This pollen will be consumed by both the brood and adults.

Honey bees collect nectar from flowering blooms. The adult worker bees fly over the flowers to extract the nectar. Once this nectar has been extracted from the flower, the honey-making process continues within the bees. At last, it would be stored within the hive until the humidity goes from 70% to 20%. To do this, bees use their wings to fan the honey cells until the honey reaches the right humidity. Once this is achieved, the bees seal the cells so that the honey can be preserved for many years. 

 The number of hives in an apiary will depend on the abundance of natural resources and the type of honey bee. The honey bee will travel around 5 miles from the hive to forage for food. In its lifetime (about 36 days in the summer), the honeybee would produce about 1/12 of a teaspoon (0.8 grams) of honey. In a single collecting trip, a honeybee will visit between 50 and 100 flowers. Generally speaking, to make one pound of honey, a honeybee in a hive flies 55,000 miles and taps two million flowers.