Bee bearding is the practice of wearing several thousand
honey bees
A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...
on the face, usually as a
sideshow
In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction.
Types
There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions:
*The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten ...
-type demonstration at
agricultural shows.
Hive bees are attracted into position by a
queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
in a small cage worn under the chin.
History
Though
beekeepers
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees.
Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...
since ancient times have allowed bees to rest on their bodies to demonstrate their rapport with the insects, the practice of congregating measurable quantities of bees on the face was initiated by
Petro Prokopovych
Petro Prokopovych (1775–1850, uk, Петро Прокопович) was a revolutionary Ukrainian beekeeper, the founder of commercial beekeeping and the inventor of the first movable frame hive. He introduced novelties in traditional beekeepin ...
, a Ukrainian beekeeper, in the 1830s. The practice spread to various "freak" exhibitions at Russian
carnivals
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
by the end of the 19th century.
Records
Indian man Vipin Seth set a world record for wearing a mantle of bees weighing 61.4 kilograms.
The current record for the "heaviest mantle of bees" is held by a Chinese national, Ruan Liangming, who was filmed by
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
wearing an estimated 637,000 bees, including about 60 queen bees, weighing about 63.5 kilograms, in May 2014.
As of August 31, 2017, the record for the longest time wearing a beard of bees was 61 minutes.
References
{{reflist
Further reading
*Frank Sennett, "No. 80: Bee Bearded," ''101 Stunts for Principals to Inspire Student Achievement'' (Corwin Press, 2004)
116117.
Beekeeping
Sideshow attractions