Abstract:

Humans have benefited from animals throughout their lives by hunting before the Neolithic and then controlling them by domestication. One of the animal groups under control is the bees, which existed long before humans. Bees, which are in circulation in natural life, have been taken under control by humans and turned into an important livestock breeding used in many different fields such as food, cosmetics, and medicine. These bees, which are of Asian origin, are spread all over the world except the extreme places. The world colony existence, which was around 50 million in 1960, has increased to over 100 million today. Today, the leading countries of beekeeping activities are China, Turkey, and India. Turkey has an important role in world beekeeping. Turkey's beekeeping potential has increased up to ten times compared to the first years of the Republic. The majority of the country's honey production is provided from the Mediterranean, Eastern Black Sea, Aegean and Middle Eastern Anatolia regions. Şemdinli (Hakkâri) district, which constitutes the study area, is also located in the Middle East Anatolia region. Şemdinli is among the districts where the most honey and beeswax production are made in Turkey. In 2021, 313 tons of honey and 32 tons of beeswax were produced in the district. In the study, in addition to data portals such as FAO, TUIK and TOB, data sets were produced by interviewing beekeepers in settlements where beekeeping is most common. In the study, a phenomenological design was used to reveal the beekeepers' own experiences from their point of view.

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