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Laying the Foundation for Utah’s Beekeeping Success, 1848–1888
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BY
J.
M I C H A E L
H U N T E R
In the twenty years since Latter-day Saint settlers introduced honey bees to the Salt Lake Valley in 1848, beekeepers struggled to keep their bees alive.1 Exposure to inclement weather, dry seasons, and a scarcity of forage caused early bee losses. Diseases and accidents also resulted in early bee failures because traditional beekeeping methods limited a beekeeper’s ability to detect these problems and protect their bees. Prior to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, overland transportation made it difficult for beekeepers to import new bees to mitigate losses. Many beekeepers determined that beekeeping was not sustainable in Utah and gave up on the endeavor, while other apiarists were determined to prove that beekeeping in Utah could be successful. Relying on developments in the country’s freight transportation system to ship beekeeping equipment and honey bee stock, they introduced honey bee subspecies that were productive, gentle, and more resistant to diseases. They utilized innovative beehive designs that provided healthier environments for bees to thrive. Nineteenth-century beekeepers took advantage of a modernized scholarly and professional communication system for disseminating scientific information about beekeeping and created organizations dedicated to the art of keeping bees. These successful beekeepers also practiced improved methods of disease control and advocated for bee-protecting laws. In this in-depth analysis of beekeeping in territorial Utah—the first of its kind—I steer away from the typical representation of the beehive as a symbol of Latter-day Saints industry, and rather, emphasize the environmental conditions, technological innovations, and flourishing organizations that fostered the use and culture of keeping bees.2 There is no known evidence that the honey bee existed west of the Rocky Mountains until settlers imported them in the mid-nineteenth century. Initial honey bee imports to Utah were limited.3 Wagon trains whose inventories included beehives arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in September 1848, September 1849, and October 1849.4 According to the 1850 United States census, taken in 1851, Utah Territory produced a combined total of
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