Honey bee diversity and beekeeping in Thailand.

Traditional beekeeping with the indigenous honey bee, Apis cerana, began in the coconut plantation areas on Samui Island in southern Thailand but there are no records to confirm when it started(1). However, literature preserved in the bee museum of the Apiculture Research Institute in Beijing, China, shows that Thai (Tai tribe) beekeeping began about 1000 years ago in Xishuang Banna, southern Yunnan province, China. in addition, numerous ancient medical books indicate that honey has been used widely as an ingredient to mix with several medicinal plants to make traditional Thai medicines. This practice is still used in traditional drug stores in Thailand(2,3).