Editing Honey (section)

=== Human intervention ===
Human beings have [[Domestication|semi-domesticated]] several species of honey bee by taking advantage of their swarming stage. Swarming is the means by which new colonies are established when there is no longer space for expansion in the colony's present hive. The old queen lays eggs that will develop into new queens and then leads as many as half the colony to a site for a new hive. Bees generally swarm before a suitable location for another hive has been discovered by scouts sent out for this purpose. Until such a location is found the swarm will simply conglomerate near the former hive, often from tree branches. These swarms are unusually docile and amenable to transport by humans. When provided with a suitable nesting site, such as a commercial [[Langstroth hive]], the swarm will readily form a new colony in artificial surroundings. These semi-domesticated colonies are then looked after by humans practicing apiculture or meliponiculture. Captured bees are encouraged to forage, often in agricultural settings such as orchards, where pollinators are highly valued. The honey, [[Bee pollen|pollen]], [[Beeswax|wax]] and [[Plant defense against herbivory|resins]] the bees produce are all harvested by humans for a variety of uses.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Seeley |first=Thomas D. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1059264208 |title=The lives of bees : the untold story of the honey bee in the wild |date=2019 |isbn=978-0-691-16676-6 |location=Princeton, NJ |oclc=1059264208}}</ref>

The term "semi-domesticated" is preferred because all bee colonies, even those in very large agricultural apiculture operations, readily leave the protection of humans in swarms that can establish successful wild colonies. Much of the effort in commercial beekeeping is dedicated to persuading a hive that is ready to swarm to produce more honeycomb in its present location. This is usually done by adding more space to the colony with ''[[honey super]]s'', empty boxes placed on top of an existing colony. The bees can then usually be enticed to develop this empty space instead of dividing their colony through swarming.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Civitts |first=Ray |date=15 April 2019 |title=When do you add a honey super? |url=https://mountainsweethoney.com/add-honey-super/ |access-date=24 September 2022 |website=Mountain Sweet Honey |language=en-US |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924032503/https://mountainsweethoney.com/add-honey-super/ |url-status=live }}</ref>