Bees are crucial for maintaining the correct biological balance in ecosystems while preventing population decline of bees has nowadays become a significant issue in modern apiculture. Scientists estimate that more than three fourth of the world production of food is determined by the condition of apiculture. The most crucial causes of bee population decreases include, among others: the shrinking natural meadow areas, bee diseases, excessive application of harmful to bees means of plant protection and the consequences of climate changes. As stated by dr Zbigniew Kotłowski in the below-presented article „The importance of honey bees for the natural environment and for human activities is tremendous. This matter must be raised not only by bee-keepers but also by the whole society so that the need for better care over these precious animals is understood. Pollination by bees provides a balance between native and newly-introduced species in a given ecosystem while controlling land erosion and enhancing the appearance of human life and environment and increasing the value of human income. Bees pollinate native species of plants which provide food to the wild-living consumers, an inseparable element of the natural ecosystem”.

In the territory of the Ukrainian-Polish borderland, apiaries have been maintained for centuries. This region is rich in bee-keeping and apiculture traditions passed on from generation to generation. The issues related to bee-keeping and bee behavioural patterns in Ukraine are discussed by Professor Wiktor Katernyczuk from the Jurij Fedkowycz Czerniowiecki National University in the article entitled “Bees and ecology”. The author points out the causes of bee extinction and the need for environmental protection so that bees as ecosystem pointers are not doomed to extinct.
You may discover some facts about honey produced in Subcarpathia and apiculture products  applied in apitherapy in the article written by Prof. Małgorzata Dżugan, PhD, Eng. Of UR from the Department of  Chemistry and Toxicology of Food at the Institute of Food Technology and Nutrition of the Rzeszów University entitled “Honey and apiculture products in apitherapy”. Apiphytotherapeutic products, pro-health properties of honey, types of honey, its chemical composition as well as differences between varieties of honey have all been presented in this work.              The history of bee-keeping and apiculture on Polish lands has been portrayed within the article of Krzysztof Zieliński called “Bee-keeping”. Let us indulge in the former practices of gaining honey...
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