Johann Dzierzon

Poland 1811-1906

Johann Dzierzon was, in some ways, the founder of beekeeping. He was a Polish Catholic priest whose greatest work was to publish a book entitled “Dzierzon’s Rational Beekeeping” which covered a variety of topics concerning beekeeping including possible alternate food for bees, what types of bees there are, and how to address the feared foulbrood in bees. (1, 2) Right near the start, he is quick to explain the advantages of beekeeping including: profit, happiness, maintaining your morals, and their ability to thrive on any kind of land, crop-bound or wild. (1) He explained the two products of beehives, honey and wax, are irreplaceable by substitute and, at the time of writing, selling for a pretty good price.

Dzierzon also explained why beekeeping could have personal moral benefits. By using free time at the hives observing the industrious bees, rather than in immoral activities one can be uplifted.

Dzierzon also contributed to the science of bee-keeping in general, notably the notion that the male bees come about without a father. Recently, scientists confirmed this idea, finding male bees had only half the chromosomes of female bees and came from unfertilized eggs. (3)

He had classified bees into three classes: queen bees (or perfect females), worker bees (or imperfect females), and drones. He also noted there were a few abnormalities such as worker bees that lay eggs or queens that lay no eggs or only drones, but that those were exceedingly uncommon. (1)

Lastly, he advised against Cyprian bees because despite their attractive color, they were much more difficult to work with and produced significant quantities of bees without a correlating increase in honey output. Instead, he heartily recommends Italian bees for their superior industriousness and comparable attractiveness. (1)

Works Referenced

1. Dzierzon’s Rational Bee-Keeping; or the The Theory and Practice of Dr. Dzierzon…https://archive.org/stream/dzierzonsration00stutgoog#page/n20/mode/2up 
2. American Bee Journal https://books.google.com/books?id=Xbc5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA423&lpg=PA423&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false 
3. Honeybee Gene Find Ends 150-year Search https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/08/030822074151.htm