The purpose of the article is to study the features of the main stages of the development of beekeeping in general and in individual regions of the country, highlighting historical conditions and factors. Information about the development of beekeeping in our country has existed since the 10th century. Note that the natural conditions created very favorable conditions for the industry. Beekeeping products – honey and wax – were of national economic value, as a result, a strong economic foundation was laid for the development of beekeeping. In the Kiev state, in the era of principalities, the population that was engaged in beekeeping was subject to large taxes in the form of tribute, etc. In the XVIII and XIX centuries the national economic importance of beekeeping has dropped sharply.

Beekeeping products have lost their former value. Bread vodka and kvass replaced honey, sugar from beets appeared, kerosene began to be widely used instead of wax candles. The general decline of beekeeping, the decrease in its profitability led to the emergence of more intensive forms of management. A frame hive came to replace the non-collapsible hive. The new beekeeping system began to rely on scientific foundations, knowledge of the life of bees. The first inventors of the collapsible hive already had significant scientific works that could be used for the theoretical substantiation and practical development of the foundations of the new system. Domestic specialists have made a significant contribution to the development of beekeeping. In particular, P.I. Prokopovich, who in 1814 invented the first frame hive. He organized an apiary for several thousand bee colonies.

In 1828 in his apiary, he opened the first beekeeping school, on the basis of which a significant number of beekeepers were trained for different zones of the country. P.I. Prokopovich constantly made reports, was published and was widely known outside our country. In his apiary P.I. Prokopovich did a lot of research work, studied the life of bees, developed new methods of caring for bees, methods of combating bee diseases. He was the first researcher and organizer of the beekeeping fodder base. Beehive P.I. Prokopovich had not yet been improved, and in practice beekeepers encountered many technical difficulties. A more improved frame hive, similar to the modern one, was invented by the American beekeeper in 1851. Invention and improvement: a collapsible hive, a honey extractor, which made it possible to select honey without spoiling a honeycomb, artificial wax – these are the three main inventions on which industrial production was based that time. The above and other inventions have laid a solid foundation for the development of a frame beekeeping system. The creation of societies, the holding of exhibitions that contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and new experience among industry specialists were also important for the development of beekeeping. So, in 1858 an agricultural exhibition was held in Vyatk, at which a beekeeping department was organized and 54 exhibits from 22 farms were presented. Among them were hives, tools and honey samples. Note that the first beekeepers 'society in Ukraine was organized in Odessa in 1928. Beekeepers' societies organized industry courses and exhibitions. So, in 1877 an exemplary apiary of the Committee of Beekeepers was organized in the Botanical Garden of Kiev University, in 1892 – an educational apiary at the Uman School of Gardening and Agriculture, in 1891 – in Yekaterinoslav, and in 1892 in Simferopol, schools of gardening, truck farming and beekeeping were opened. In 1902 on the initiative of A.F. Andriashev was opened in Kiev, and then transferred to Boyarka «Practical School of the South Russian Society of Beekeepers». The first beekeeping exhibition in Ukraine was organized in Odessa in 1844 as a department of the agricultural exhibition. The events of 1917 somewhat slowed down the development of the industry, but already in the 20-s of the twentieth century beekeeping began to develop rapidly. A network of beekeepers' cooperation was organized, which supplied beekeepers with artificial waxes, implements, etc. The cooperation organized various events for the dissemination of knowledge in beekeeping: courses, exhibitions. Boyarska school was reorganized first into a vocational school, and then a technical school for beekeeping. A beekeeping research station was founded, which had its own printed organ – the magazine «Pchelovod». At the station, correspondence courses for the training of beekeepers were opened. Beekeeping also developed on the collective and state farms of the country. Note also that the development of beekeeping was gaining momentum, in particular in the Chernihiv region. From 1933 to 1935, collective farm apiaries increased from 600 to 1783 in the region (297%). The number of bee colonies during this time increased by 165,1%. The development of beekeeping was constantly discussed at the meetings. In particular, we note about the congress of specialists in beekeeping, organized in 1918, a meeting of scientists of the Ukrainian Scientific Research Station of Beekeeping and its five support points, which took place during November 18-20, 1936, on December 28, 1938, the production meeting on beekeeping, etc. Note that by 1941 80% of the collective farms in Ukraine had large industrial apiaries, which annually produced up to 10 thousand tons of marketable honey and a large amount of waxes used in industry. During the period of the occupation of the Ukrainian SSR by the German invaders, the national economy of the republic suffered huge losses. State and collective farm beekeeping was almost completely destroyed. However, after the liberation of the country from the German fascists, the restoration of the industry gradually began. So, during 1944-1953 collective farm beekeeping increased 9 times. Apiaries of that time had 93% of collective farms, the average size of which was 65 bee colonies.

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