Changes

In the 19th and 20th century, artificial honey and new forms of beehives were created to make production more suitable for mass markets. While artificial hives have been known since the 3rd millennium BCE, modern frame hives found in beehives kept by modern beekeepers were invented in 1814. The idea was to make it easier to separate bees from the hives to more easily collect honey. Previously, smoke was used to drive bees away and then break artificial or natural hives, where the honey was then collected. Eventually in 1852, the Langstroth hive was invented, which has now become the modern way in which most natural honey is collected. This innovation made us of the so-called "bee space," which was observed distance between each comb that was large enough to keep a comb from sticking together. Such innovations also made beekeeping less destructive, as many other methods often destroyed not only the hive but killed many of the bees, often making the process of honey production unsustainable for beekeepers. The taste of honey can be refined based on the types of flowers bees used. Australia probably has some of the most unique honey in the world due to the continent having many types of flowers that are unique to it. Artificial honey has also become well established, which was already occurring in ancient periods where flour was often added to create a form of artificial honey. This has led to a variety of grades and quality standards being created today by different countries. In the United States, grades A-C are used to reflect the quality of honey products. Floral sources of honey are also used for classification, including how many different flowers bees used to create honey.