Beekeeping involves maintaining honey bee colonies in hives. A beekeeper collects honey and other hive products like beeswax, while also pollinating crops. Humans have kept bees since at least 15,000 years ago, and methods have advanced from crude extraction to modern hives and equipment. Honey bees are social insects that live in colonies and communicate through dances. The main honey bee species are A. dorsata, A. indica, A. mellifera, and A. florea, which differ in size, aggressiveness, and domesticability. Beekeeping provides nutritional and medicinal honey, as well as economic benefits through pollination, wax, and other products.