Have you ever heard about Caucasian honey bee called “Apis Mellifera Caucasica”? It is a unique bee species characterized by long stinger, moderate swarm and resistance to low temperatures. That’s why the Georgian bee won the gold medal in 1961, Erfurt, Germany. Among various bees, only the Georgian grey bee could collect the biggest amount of honey. With its long stinger, it can collect much honey and pollinate more flowers.  There is archeological evidence of beekeeping culture in ancient Georgia. Historical sources prove that beekeeping was highly developed in Colchis (ancient Georgian region on the coast of Black Sea), IV century BC. It turns out that a bee with the longest stinger comes from west Georgia, Samegrelo.  There are three major types of Beekeeping in Georgia: wild, half-wild and domestic beekeeping. Wild beekeeping implies collecting honey and wax in the wild. During half-wild beekeeping, bee families are taken from the wild and put in log or clay hives. The hives are located on predetermined destinations such as rocks or forests. Domestic beekeeping means building special hives for bees and observing their reproduction and life cycles domestically. Georgian beekeepers try to maintain traditional ways of keeping the insect. An engineer from Sagarejo (east Georgia) has been creating traditional hives of different sizes. Nikoloz Osikmishvili doesn’t use antibiotics to increase bee reproduction. Thus, he protects them from various diseases. Bees live in hives wildly and make honeycombs by themselves.
The beekeeper thinks that there is no need of providing frames, antibiotics or honeycombs in an artificial way. Bees should live in wildlife as they know better how to do their job. He hopes to patent his beekeeping technology and to implement Apitherapy in Georgia. Apitherapy is a treatment of diseases with the use of live bees and hive products. As Nikoloz Osikmishvili says, the air of beehive is saturated with the substances  that have antimicrobial properties. It neutralizes harmful microorganisms, and preserves useful ones, and helps to normalize metabolism. They clean the air in the radius of 200 meters. Such microclimate restores blood circulation, immunity and stabilizes blood pressure. It is the best instrument against respiratory problems, various diseases, depression and stress.