Volume 85, August 2015, Pages 65–74
Abstract
Honey
is increasingly recognized as an important food item in human
evolution, but it remains unclear whether extinct hominins could have
overcome the formidable collective stinging defenses of honey bees
during honey acquisition. The utility of smoke for this purpose is
widely recognized, but little research has explored alternative methods
of sting deterrence such as the use of plant secondary compounds. To
consider whether hominins could have used plant extracts as a precursor
or alternative to smoke, we review the ethnographic, ethnobotanical, and
plant chemical ecology literature to examine how humans use plants in
combination with, and independently of, smoke during honey collection.
Plant secondary compounds are diverse in their physiological and
behavioral effects on bees and differ fundamentally from those of smoke.
Plants containing these chemicals are widespread and prove to be
remarkably effective in facilitating honey collection by honey hunters
and beekeepers worldwide. While smoke may be superior as a deterrent to
bees, plant extracts represent a plausible precursor or alternative to
the use of smoke during honey collection by hominins. Smoke is a
sufficient but not necessary condition for acquiring honey in amounts
exceeding those typically obtained by chimpanzees, suggesting that
significant honey consumption could have predated the control of fire.
Keywords
- Honey bee;
- Zoopharmacognosy;
- Ethnobiology;
- Apis
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
