**1. Introduction**

My practice of beekeeping and study of apidology extending over 54 years starting when my father was close to death due to end-stage liver cancer and cancerous hepatocirrhosis.

On the early morning of 1 day in mid-April 1965, my father vomited a large amount of blood exceeding 2 L because of esophageal variceal rupture. Immediately he was transported to a hospital by ambulance. He also showed strong jaundice

symptoms and fell into a coma. The physician in charge said that he would have 3 months or less to live.

Under these circumstances, one of the visitors said as follows: "I heard that Pope Pio XII was resuscitated with royal jelly (RJ) from critical conditions due to old age [1, 2]. How about testing the effect of RJ?"

additional orders, it was challenging, but I asked my fellows to collect queen cells,

*Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping…*

I learned that the RJ passed over by the beekeeper was the natural RJ collected from the special hive cells called "natural queen cell cups" prepared by the habits of honeybees from artificial queen cell cups [3]. If all the RJ purchased had shown the same effect, interest would not have been so great. Since the story about the miraculous resuscitation of the Pope was heard from someone who had visited my father, RJ was sought for and I encountered the genuine RJ with reliable effects. Since the same effects were not seen when I started peddler of RJ, I started to study

Thereafter, I became a pupil of Dr. Yoshinobu Tokuda, a world-famous apicultural scientist, and learned in detail about apidology, the modality of correct beekeeping and the methods of harvesting RJ. Dr. Tokuda taught that RJ is vulnerable to the following: oxygen in the air, metallic tools, ultraviolet light, and gastric acid (hydrochloric acid) in humans. Countermeasures were essential in dealing with these four weak points. Dr. Tokuda asserted that RJ should be stored below 5°C, and that cryopreservation below 18°C is necessary for permanent storage [4]. Then I

(KYAMENABEE)", which involves not handling honeybees harshly. This was triggered by the following words spoken by one beekeeper when talking about the production of RJ: "Since production of RJ will impair honeybees, I have no intention to do it in mercy of honeybees." When I asked "What is meant by impairs honeybees?" the beekeeper answered "It means the weakening of bee colonies". In other words, he means that when the worker bees are made to produce a large volume of RJ, it goes against the habits of honeybees related to ecology/providence thereof and weakens bee colonies. I made further studies based on this important suggestion and created a methodology to produce RJ using artificial queen cell cups that achieves a certain level of production scale and secures the same level of quality as natural beekeeping [5, 6]. I named this methodology the "Kikuji Yamaguchi Method

Apicultural products including RJ have been utilized as health supplements since ancient times. In light of their purpose, these apicultural products must not induce any health injuries and must exert the effects meeting the purpose. In recent years, however, the safety and functionality of apicultural products including RJ have repeatedly been questioned as people have become increasingly health conscious. For example, in Japan, from the viewpoint that it is important to appropriately utilize healthy foods for improvement of people's health, the National Institute of

Health and Nutrition is publishing safety/efficacy information through its

established material information database for various foods called "healthy foods". According to this database in relation to the "safety of RJ" some descriptions refer to damage to health that is suspected to have a causal relationship with ingestion of RJ. Such instances include the following "Safety is suggested only when orally ingested appropriately for a short term", "Use of RJ should be avoided during pregnancy or lactation, since reliable data have not been sufficiently obtained", "When ingested orally, almost no adverse reactions appear in people without allergic diathesis, but various allergic reactions (pruritus, urticaria, eczema, edema on eyelid or face, arthritis, rhinorrhea, dyspnea, asthma, etc.) occur with a high incidence in people

reached the specific "Kikuji Yamaguchi Method of Natural Beekeeping

of Natural Beekeeping (KYAMENABEE)".

**2. Problems existing in modern beekeeping**

**2.1 Various problems existing in modern beekeeping**

which are usually disposed, and secured the necessary amount."

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

apidology.

**113**

At that time, I was completely unaware of RJ. I looked for "beekeepers" all over Japan, found one beekeeper in Gifu Prefecture and purchased some RJ. I rushed back to Tokyo feeling a powerful urge to give it to my father as soon as possible. However, I did not know how to make a patient in a comatose state take the RJ. After consultation with the chief nurse, it was injected into the rectum with a syringe. It was administered at a dose of 5 g twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.Two days later, my father came out of the coma in the morning and said, "I am hungry." He again asked for something to eat on the following morning, distressing his wife. It was realized that he was getting better day by day. First, urination became smooth. The jaundice symptoms disappeared, and the skin became tinged with a pink color. The abdominal region, which had been swollen with ascites, gradually became smaller. In the meantime, appetite increased. Even after he became capable of ingesting foods, RJ continued to be administered at a dose of 10 g every day.

About 2.5 months after hospitalization, the hospital president visited his room and said: "It is mysterious. I have been a physician for more than 40 years, but I have never experienced a case like yours. There are no concerns as far as judged from the laboratory tests. Next week, we would like to cut your abdomen a little bit to look at your liver by means of abdominoscopy. At that time, cytodiagnosis of the liver will also be performed." After abdominoscopy, the hospital president said as follows with smiling: "Congratulations, Mr. Yamaguchi. This is a miracle. Cancer was not detected anywhere, and metastasis was not seen either. Hepatocirrhosis has also gotten better. It is really mysterious. RJ exerted the effect in the same way as in the case of the Pope, didn't it? We are going to discharge under the condition of visiting us once a week. I am so happy for you. Congratulations."

After witnessing this miracle, I embraced a keen interest in the substance known as "RJ". At this time, I decided to devote my life to research on the substance, RJ, and the mysterious insect, the honeybee, that produces RJ. It was August 1, 1965. At that time, I was 23 years old. I quit my previous job and selected peddler of RJ to convey the surprising effects to other people. Namely, I started a job to purchase RJ from beekeepers and go from place to place to sell it. However, in the 6 months after the start of peddling RJ, I did not experience the dramatic recovery or miraculous result seen in the case of my father, in spite of the recommendations I had made to many people. I reached the serious question of why no effect was seen in other persons.

I decided to visit the beekeeper, from whom the RJ had been obtained to treat my father, to report the results. I asked the beekeeper what the RJ administered to my father was like. The beekeeper answered as follows: "Nowadays, RJ produced using artificial queen cell cups is purchased only by some pharmaceutical companies and does not make much money. Since the purchase price is low in spite of much labor, no beekeepers harvest RJ." I asked further, "So how did you harvest the RJ given to my father?" The beekeeper answered as follows: "Worker bees prepare the natural queen bee's nursing room, which is called a queen cell. When the queen bee lays fertilized eggs therein, the worker bees aged 3–12 days after emergence produce RJ in their cephalic glands by consuming a large volume of honey and pollen, especially pollen, and then they secrete RJ to give the larvae. The number of queen cells sometimes exceeds 10. The RJ pooled in the natural queen cell cups was incidentally harvested and stored in a refrigerator at less than 4°C. When you made *Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

additional orders, it was challenging, but I asked my fellows to collect queen cells, which are usually disposed, and secured the necessary amount."

I learned that the RJ passed over by the beekeeper was the natural RJ collected from the special hive cells called "natural queen cell cups" prepared by the habits of honeybees from artificial queen cell cups [3]. If all the RJ purchased had shown the same effect, interest would not have been so great. Since the story about the miraculous resuscitation of the Pope was heard from someone who had visited my father, RJ was sought for and I encountered the genuine RJ with reliable effects. Since the same effects were not seen when I started peddler of RJ, I started to study apidology.

Thereafter, I became a pupil of Dr. Yoshinobu Tokuda, a world-famous apicultural scientist, and learned in detail about apidology, the modality of correct beekeeping and the methods of harvesting RJ. Dr. Tokuda taught that RJ is vulnerable to the following: oxygen in the air, metallic tools, ultraviolet light, and gastric acid (hydrochloric acid) in humans. Countermeasures were essential in dealing with these four weak points. Dr. Tokuda asserted that RJ should be stored below 5°C, and that cryopreservation below 18°C is necessary for permanent storage [4]. Then I reached the specific "Kikuji Yamaguchi Method of Natural Beekeeping (KYAMENABEE)", which involves not handling honeybees harshly. This was triggered by the following words spoken by one beekeeper when talking about the production of RJ: "Since production of RJ will impair honeybees, I have no intention to do it in mercy of honeybees." When I asked "What is meant by impairs honeybees?" the beekeeper answered "It means the weakening of bee colonies". In other words, he means that when the worker bees are made to produce a large volume of RJ, it goes against the habits of honeybees related to ecology/providence thereof and weakens bee colonies. I made further studies based on this important suggestion and created a methodology to produce RJ using artificial queen cell cups that achieves a certain level of production scale and secures the same level of quality as natural beekeeping [5, 6]. I named this methodology the "Kikuji Yamaguchi Method of Natural Beekeeping (KYAMENABEE)".

### **2. Problems existing in modern beekeeping**

#### **2.1 Various problems existing in modern beekeeping**

Apicultural products including RJ have been utilized as health supplements since ancient times. In light of their purpose, these apicultural products must not induce any health injuries and must exert the effects meeting the purpose. In recent years, however, the safety and functionality of apicultural products including RJ have repeatedly been questioned as people have become increasingly health conscious. For example, in Japan, from the viewpoint that it is important to appropriately utilize healthy foods for improvement of people's health, the National Institute of Health and Nutrition is publishing safety/efficacy information through its established material information database for various foods called "healthy foods". According to this database in relation to the "safety of RJ" some descriptions refer to damage to health that is suspected to have a causal relationship with ingestion of RJ. Such instances include the following "Safety is suggested only when orally ingested appropriately for a short term", "Use of RJ should be avoided during pregnancy or lactation, since reliable data have not been sufficiently obtained", "When ingested orally, almost no adverse reactions appear in people without allergic diathesis, but various allergic reactions (pruritus, urticaria, eczema, edema on eyelid or face, arthritis, rhinorrhea, dyspnea, asthma, etc.) occur with a high incidence in people

symptoms and fell into a coma. The physician in charge said that he would have

Under these circumstances, one of the visitors said as follows: "I heard that Pope Pio XII was resuscitated with royal jelly (RJ) from critical conditions due to old age

At that time, I was completely unaware of RJ. I looked for "beekeepers" all over Japan, found one beekeeper in Gifu Prefecture and purchased some RJ. I rushed back to Tokyo feeling a powerful urge to give it to my father as soon as possible. However, I did not know how to make a patient in a comatose state take the RJ. After consultation with the chief nurse, it was injected into the rectum with a syringe. It was administered at a dose of 5 g twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.Two days later, my father came out of the coma in the morning and said, "I am hungry." He again asked for something to eat on the following morning, distressing his wife. It was realized that he was getting better day by day. First, urination became smooth. The jaundice symptoms disappeared, and the skin became tinged with a pink color. The abdominal region, which had been swollen with ascites, gradually became smaller. In the meantime, appetite increased. Even after he became capable of ingesting foods, RJ continued to be administered at a

About 2.5 months after hospitalization, the hospital president visited his room and said: "It is mysterious. I have been a physician for more than 40 years, but I have never experienced a case like yours. There are no concerns as far as judged from the laboratory tests. Next week, we would like to cut your abdomen a little bit to look at your liver by means of abdominoscopy. At that time, cytodiagnosis of the liver will also be performed." After abdominoscopy, the hospital president said as follows with smiling: "Congratulations, Mr. Yamaguchi. This is a miracle. Cancer was not detected anywhere, and metastasis was not seen either. Hepatocirrhosis has also gotten better. It is really mysterious. RJ exerted the effect in the same way as in the case of the Pope, didn't it? We are going to discharge under the condition of

After witnessing this miracle, I embraced a keen interest in the substance known as "RJ". At this time, I decided to devote my life to research on the substance, RJ, and the mysterious insect, the honeybee, that produces RJ. It was August 1, 1965. At that time, I was 23 years old. I quit my previous job and selected peddler of RJ to convey the surprising effects to other people. Namely, I started a job to purchase RJ from beekeepers and go from place to place to sell it. However, in the 6 months after the start of peddling RJ, I did not experience the dramatic recovery or miraculous result seen in the case of my father, in spite of the recommendations I had made to many people. I reached the serious question of why no effect was seen in

I decided to visit the beekeeper, from whom the RJ had been obtained to treat my father, to report the results. I asked the beekeeper what the RJ administered to my father was like. The beekeeper answered as follows: "Nowadays, RJ produced using artificial queen cell cups is purchased only by some pharmaceutical companies and does not make much money. Since the purchase price is low in spite of much labor, no beekeepers harvest RJ." I asked further, "So how did you harvest the RJ given to my father?" The beekeeper answered as follows: "Worker bees prepare the natural queen bee's nursing room, which is called a queen cell. When the queen bee lays fertilized eggs therein, the worker bees aged 3–12 days after emergence produce RJ in their cephalic glands by consuming a large volume of honey and pollen, especially pollen, and then they secrete RJ to give the larvae. The number of queen cells sometimes exceeds 10. The RJ pooled in the natural queen cell cups was incidentally harvested and stored in a refrigerator at less than 4°C. When you made

visiting us once a week. I am so happy for you. Congratulations."

3 months or less to live.

dose of 10 g every day.

other persons.

**112**

[1, 2]. How about testing the effect of RJ?"

*Modern Beekeeping - Bases for Sustainable Production*

with a history of atopy or asthma. Use of RJ should be avoided in patients with asthma or atopy, since anaphylactic reactions leading to an asthma attack may be induced, in severe cases leading to death" and "Intoxication may be caused when ingested at a high dose". While it was previously known that such health issues may occur infrequently, there has recently been a trend for increased incidence of these problems. As the background of such increase, serious problems related to the quality of RJ cannot be overlooked. No one can deny the fact that supposedly "highquality" RJ is now marketed widely after being manufactured by artificially modified beekeeping technology with the post-manufacturing addition of 10-hydroxy-2 decenoic acid (10-HDA), etc. [7–9]. Furthermore, the proteins contained in RJ are denatured by neglecting filtration immediately after harvest and storage in a refrigerator (2°C).

propose new standards for evaluating the quality of apicultural products with high

*Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping…*

Honeybees collect flower nectar and pollen from nectar plants. Originally, flower nectar is secreted by plants to attract insects including honeybees and birds to the flowers for pollination, which is necessary for the preparation of seeds. Secretion of flower nectar depends not only on the climate conditions such as sunlight, temperature and amount of rainfall, but also on the status of soil. Since beekeeping was originally performed for the purpose of collecting flower nectar and

**2.2 Problems brought about by changes in beekeeping environments**

pollens, there are deep relations with natural environments in this respect.

south towards the north. The apicultural industry of Japan used to develop by pursuing the flowers, i.e., that is the nectar sources. In other words, the beekeeping style was migratory beekeeping. However, in recent years, together with the progress of urbanization, the fields and mountains to be utilized as nectar sources have rapidly disappeared due to land reclamation. Furthermore, there has been increased planting of trees for house construction, such as cedar and cypress, while miscellaneous trees have been cut down, leading to a reduction of the number of nectar plants and making conventional migratory beekeeping impossible. In addition, due to the progress of urbanization, nectar source areas are exposed to contamination from agrochemicals and other various substances derived from human living activities. In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ordered the felling of acacia and pseudo-acacia because these trees are originally non-native species with a high rate of reproduction and adverse influences on the native species, yet these trees comprise one of the nectar sources of the four major trans-

In Japan extending from south to north, the flowering likewise spreads from the

I had opportunities to see the beekeeping practice sites all over Japan and found that a common problem was the inappropriate location of bee hives. For example, bee hives were often set in a place near a small river along a road. This was a result of consideration of convenience in transportation for migratory beekeeping and securement of daily life water for beekeepers, but this is a fundamentally mistaken policy. When honeybees come into contact with a road, contamination occurs easily with heavy metals on the road from exhaust fumes, etc. Furthermore, in such places, it is highly likely that antibiotics are carried into the hive cells at high concentrations through the waste water derived from livestock farms.

In such current status, it is no exaggeration to say that Japan's apicultural industry has reached a critical moment for its survival. Furthermore, this is closely related to the beekeeping performed in the countries exporting apicultural products to Japan.

In Japan and Europe, colonies are made to winter. In China, however, honeybees are used only for 1 year at many of the beekeeping industry sites. It can be said that this rearing method is inconsistent with the habits of honeybees. The honeybee is the only insect that can generate heat and hibernate throughout winter. Of course, the honeybee is a heterothermic animal and each individual bee cannot maintain a constant body temperature, but they can maintain a constant hive temperature as a

**2.3 Problems existing in modern beekeeping as an industry**

*2.3.1 Wintering of Colony and preparation of seed bees*

In this paper, I would like to consider the problems to be solved for sustainable development of the apicultural industry, based on my experiences and practices.

functionality based on scientific rationales.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

parent honeys.

**115**

On the other hand, the hive abandonment by honeybees (the Colony Collapse Disorder: CCD) [10, 11], which has often been reported since 2006, is a big surprise to the world of beekeepers [12–22].

It is impossible to deny that the background of this issue includes a serious problem related to the high-level biological functions of honeybees. Honeybees form a highly-socialized population, and the total activities of the honeybee society can be maintained only when the hierarchized honeybees play the roles of each hierarchy layer. It is natural to consider that the serious problem is a result of significant impairing of the high sociality and biological feature of honeybees due to the tremendous stress placed on the honeybee society by the production-first policy and cost-first policy. The consideration emphasizing quantity over quality and pursuing cheapness may weaken bee colonies and reduce disease resistance.

Pollution with agrochemicals, heavy metals and antibiotics accompanying economic development is another serious problem for beekeeping environments. The issue of residual antibiotics in honey began in Europe in December 2001 and subsequently spread around the world. The standards for residual antibiotics in each country were triggered by this issue to change the level from ppm to ppb (1/1000 of ppm).

The low quality of apicultural products manufactured by inappropriate beekeeping and inappropriate processing to supplement the low quality have created a vicious cycle and caused a serious problem that not only disturbs the production and quality control of apicultural products as natural foods with high added values, but also possibly impairs the sustainability of the apicultural industry itself.

I have systemically summarized the immense benefits obtained from beekeeping and apicultural products (especially RJ) as well as an originally-anticipated form of beekeeping through the practices of natural beekeeping and quality control of apicultural products as performed for many years in Japan and China. For the past 54 years, I have focused on ways to improve Japanese beekeeping technology. As a result, I noted many problems needing improvement in the modality of beekeeping and production control of apicultural products such as the absence of basic beekeeping technology in modern beekeeping businesses, the deteriorated quality of apicultural products due to inappropriate processing, contamination with drugs such as antibiotics, and the shortened life span of queen bees and deteriorated bee colonies brought about by excessive artificial inbreeding of seed bees. Based on the above, I have proposed an originally-anticipated form of beekeeping from the viewpoint of natural beekeeping based on the original biological capability of honeybees in order to solve the problems found in the modern beekeeping.

The purposes of this paper are to objectively first grasp the basic problems with modern beekeeping to propose an originally anticipated form of beekeeping for solving the problems by means of theoretical investigation and practical application to verify the functions of the apicultural products manufactured in this way, and to *Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

propose new standards for evaluating the quality of apicultural products with high functionality based on scientific rationales.

In this paper, I would like to consider the problems to be solved for sustainable development of the apicultural industry, based on my experiences and practices.

#### **2.2 Problems brought about by changes in beekeeping environments**

Honeybees collect flower nectar and pollen from nectar plants. Originally, flower nectar is secreted by plants to attract insects including honeybees and birds to the flowers for pollination, which is necessary for the preparation of seeds. Secretion of flower nectar depends not only on the climate conditions such as sunlight, temperature and amount of rainfall, but also on the status of soil. Since beekeeping was originally performed for the purpose of collecting flower nectar and pollens, there are deep relations with natural environments in this respect.

In Japan extending from south to north, the flowering likewise spreads from the south towards the north. The apicultural industry of Japan used to develop by pursuing the flowers, i.e., that is the nectar sources. In other words, the beekeeping style was migratory beekeeping. However, in recent years, together with the progress of urbanization, the fields and mountains to be utilized as nectar sources have rapidly disappeared due to land reclamation. Furthermore, there has been increased planting of trees for house construction, such as cedar and cypress, while miscellaneous trees have been cut down, leading to a reduction of the number of nectar plants and making conventional migratory beekeeping impossible. In addition, due to the progress of urbanization, nectar source areas are exposed to contamination from agrochemicals and other various substances derived from human living activities. In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ordered the felling of acacia and pseudo-acacia because these trees are originally non-native species with a high rate of reproduction and adverse influences on the native species, yet these trees comprise one of the nectar sources of the four major transparent honeys.

I had opportunities to see the beekeeping practice sites all over Japan and found that a common problem was the inappropriate location of bee hives. For example, bee hives were often set in a place near a small river along a road. This was a result of consideration of convenience in transportation for migratory beekeeping and securement of daily life water for beekeepers, but this is a fundamentally mistaken policy. When honeybees come into contact with a road, contamination occurs easily with heavy metals on the road from exhaust fumes, etc. Furthermore, in such places, it is highly likely that antibiotics are carried into the hive cells at high concentrations through the waste water derived from livestock farms.

In such current status, it is no exaggeration to say that Japan's apicultural industry has reached a critical moment for its survival. Furthermore, this is closely related to the beekeeping performed in the countries exporting apicultural products to Japan.

#### **2.3 Problems existing in modern beekeeping as an industry**

#### *2.3.1 Wintering of Colony and preparation of seed bees*

In Japan and Europe, colonies are made to winter. In China, however, honeybees are used only for 1 year at many of the beekeeping industry sites. It can be said that this rearing method is inconsistent with the habits of honeybees. The honeybee is the only insect that can generate heat and hibernate throughout winter. Of course, the honeybee is a heterothermic animal and each individual bee cannot maintain a constant body temperature, but they can maintain a constant hive temperature as a

with a history of atopy or asthma. Use of RJ should be avoided in patients with asthma or atopy, since anaphylactic reactions leading to an asthma attack may be induced, in severe cases leading to death" and "Intoxication may be caused when ingested at a high dose". While it was previously known that such health issues may occur infrequently, there has recently been a trend for increased incidence of these problems. As the background of such increase, serious problems related to the quality of RJ cannot be overlooked. No one can deny the fact that supposedly "highquality" RJ is now marketed widely after being manufactured by artificially modified beekeeping technology with the post-manufacturing addition of 10-hydroxy-2 decenoic acid (10-HDA), etc. [7–9]. Furthermore, the proteins contained in RJ are denatured by neglecting filtration immediately after harvest and storage in a refrig-

On the other hand, the hive abandonment by honeybees (the Colony Collapse Disorder: CCD) [10, 11], which has often been reported since 2006, is a big surprise

Pollution with agrochemicals, heavy metals and antibiotics accompanying economic development is another serious problem for beekeeping environments. The issue of residual antibiotics in honey began in Europe in December 2001 and subsequently spread around the world. The standards for residual antibiotics in each country were triggered by this issue to change the level from ppm to ppb

The low quality of apicultural products manufactured by inappropriate beekeeping and inappropriate processing to supplement the low quality have created a vicious cycle and caused a serious problem that not only disturbs the production and quality control of apicultural products as natural foods with high added values,

I have systemically summarized the immense benefits obtained from beekeeping and apicultural products (especially RJ) as well as an originally-anticipated form of beekeeping through the practices of natural beekeeping and quality control of apicultural products as performed for many years in Japan and China. For the past 54 years, I have focused on ways to improve Japanese beekeeping technology. As a result, I noted many problems needing improvement in the modality of beekeeping and production control of apicultural products such as the absence of basic beekeeping technology in modern beekeeping businesses, the deteriorated quality of apicultural products due to inappropriate processing, contamination with drugs such as antibiotics, and the shortened life span of queen bees and deteriorated bee colonies brought about by excessive artificial inbreeding of seed bees. Based on the above, I have proposed an originally-anticipated form of beekeeping from the viewpoint of natural beekeeping based on the original biological capability of hon-

The purposes of this paper are to objectively first grasp the basic problems with modern beekeeping to propose an originally anticipated form of beekeeping for solving the problems by means of theoretical investigation and practical application to verify the functions of the apicultural products manufactured in this way, and to

but also possibly impairs the sustainability of the apicultural industry itself.

eybees in order to solve the problems found in the modern beekeeping.

It is impossible to deny that the background of this issue includes a serious problem related to the high-level biological functions of honeybees. Honeybees form a highly-socialized population, and the total activities of the honeybee society can be maintained only when the hierarchized honeybees play the roles of each hierarchy layer. It is natural to consider that the serious problem is a result of significant impairing of the high sociality and biological feature of honeybees due to the tremendous stress placed on the honeybee society by the production-first policy and cost-first policy. The consideration emphasizing quantity over quality and pursuing cheapness may weaken bee colonies and reduce disease resistance.

erator (2°C).

(1/1000 of ppm).

**114**

to the world of beekeepers [12–22].

*Modern Beekeeping - Bases for Sustainable Production*

colony. Honeybees prepare honey by collecting nectar from autumn flowers and store pollen loads by collecting pollen. At the end of autumn, the worker bees form a cluster surrounding the queen bee and generate heat by rubbing their bodies together. Even when the outside temperature is lower than 0°C, the central temperature of the cluster is maintained at a certain temperature. Thus, the bee colony is able to pass the winter.

In China, the world's largest production area, there are more than 8 million reared honeybee colonies. Of these, Occidental honeybees account for about 80% and Oriental honeybees about 20%. Occidental honeybees are producing more than about 3000 tons of RJ per year. Originally, RJ is produced for the main purpose of growing queen bees, and we have to say that production of 3000 tons of RJ is performed by ignoring the ecology of honeybees and by abusing honeybees. In the general beekeeping business, more than 200 artificial queen cell cups are set in one bee hive for mass production of RJ. However, RJ production that exceeds the capability of worker bees leads not only to health problem for the honeybees but also to problems relating to the supply to society of inactive RJ with poor nutritive values. For example, the content of 10-HDA in RJ is generally 1.4–1.6% even in the RJ produced in mainland China and Taiwan utilizing the nectar source. These values are too low in comparison with the content of 10-HDA in RJ produced by the author's group in Qinghai province, China (2.5–3.1%) (Japan Royal Jelly Co. LTD., 2008). I consider that the cause of this low content of 10-HDA is abuse of honeybees in excessive production of RJ. Although the beekeepers' wish to obtain a large amount of RJ by using the entire colonies is understandable, it deficiently provides abuse results in weakened colonies, susceptibility to diseases, and eventually to the

*Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping…*

RJ has been projected as a functional food exerting various active functions and has been utilized since ancient times. It is natural to consider that there are close relations between the functionality of RJ and production methods thereof. It is well known that RJ is stored in the queen cell cups, in which queen bees are reared. RJ is secreted by young worker bees (aged 3–12 days after becoming mature insects), which account for only about 20% of the entire colony. Large amounts of pollen and honey are necessary for the worker bees to secrete RJ. Young worker bees eat them and secrete RJ for the larvae growing into queen bees in the artificial queen cell cups. Traditionally in Japan, since it would impair honeybees and reduce the size of the colony, many beekeepers harvesting honey for their own use hated the production of RJ. Young worker bees will soon become foraging bees to collect flower nectar and pollen, completing their lifespan of 30–40 days, but their lifespan is shortened when they are made to secrete too much RJ. When the number of such

In addition, when many artificial queen cell cups are used, the quality of RJ

RJ is projected as a functional food containing various physiologically active substances. On the other hand, one of RJ's weaknesses is that it is a delicate substance deactivated when exposed to oxygen, ultraviolet light, heat, metals, and so on. Therefore, it is extremely important to filter the RJ neat fluid after harvest at the apiary and store at a low temperature. RJ is vulnerable to heat, and denaturation occurs immediately when left at ordinary temperature, since the major components are proteins. However, ordinary beekeeping involves a surprising lack of attention to the processing and storage of harvested RJ. In the conventional general beekeeping activities, the harvested RJ neat fluid is often filled into a plastic bag or container under a tent without filtration and is then stored at ordinary temperature under no protection from sunlight. At the end of the flowering season, the harvested RJ is collected and taken at last to the processing plant, where it is gathered, filtered for the first time, and frozen. Thereafter, freezing and thawing are repeated many times. During this process, 10-HDA is even artificially added in some case in order

constant deterioration of colonies.

to comply with quality standards.

**117**

*2.3.4 Problems in harvesting and processing RJ*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

worker bees increases, the colony will naturally become weak.

suffers marked deterioration, and only watery RJ is secreted.

The wintering worker bees survive even for 5 months. When spring approaches, the queen bee starts laying eggs, and the worker bees fly out of the hive entrance to collect nectar and pollen from the flowers coming out in the early spring. The lifespan of a queen bee eating only royal jelly reaches 5 years, and the queen bee winters four times in its life. In the severe wintering periods, the survival capability of each colony is reinforced for the next season.

However, at not a few apiaries emphasizing efficiency, honeybees are disposed of at the end of the season, since colony management during the wintertime is not cost-effective. As selective breeding for that purpose, inbreeding is performed for the artificial creation of queen bees. When honeybees are disposed of at the end of the season, the colony cannot be reinforced by natural selection, and the queen bee becomes smaller year by year. The worker bees born from such queen bees tend to show a high rate of teratogenicity. The RJ prepared by such worker bees is watery and composed of inferior components.

#### *2.3.2 Weakening of colony by inbreeding*

In the natural condition, the queen bee performs a mating flight once or twice in its life, copulates with some of the accompanying drone bees of another colony and returns to the hive after obtaining seminal vesicles. In recent years, a new method was contrived for artificial mating of the queen bee and drone bees using a special device. This method may be effective for the purpose of obtaining high-quality colonies tentatively by selective breeding but tends to lead to inbreeding of bees with excellent characteristics. Some entomologists consider that inbreeding can prepare high-quality strains, and it is said that inbreeding was accelerated by such entomologists. The queen bees prepared in such way cannot avoid decreased vitality. While the lifespan of a normal queen bee is 3–5 years, it has become common for beekeepers lacking resources to dispose of colonies at the end of each season, since wintering requires not only feeding but also accommodation to protect the bees from wind/snow/rain. This is the cause of creating colonies with weak disease resistance. "Heterosis" is an unchanging principle in the living world, and "the Queen bee getting smaller in selective breeding for more production of RJ" in China is exactly the result of ignoring the habits of honeybees. Beekeepers should give sufficient consideration to this issue hereafter.

#### *2.3.3 Harmful effects of overload on honeybees*

In the current beekeeping business, there is a strong tendency towards abuse of colonies are in pursuit of economic profits, and the changes occurring in the colonies during the current beekeeping process are depreciated. For example, beekeepers are not particularly interested in the series of problems such as deteriorated quality of colonies, decreased power of resistance, decreased pollen-collecting capability, decreased disease tolerance, and decreased content of active ingredients in apicultural products.

Honeybees have survived a long history of more than 100 million years and have established an orderly society. Honeybees are called "social insects", and there ought to be pursuit of a modality of beekeeping that is suitable for posterity.

*Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

In China, the world's largest production area, there are more than 8 million reared honeybee colonies. Of these, Occidental honeybees account for about 80% and Oriental honeybees about 20%. Occidental honeybees are producing more than about 3000 tons of RJ per year. Originally, RJ is produced for the main purpose of growing queen bees, and we have to say that production of 3000 tons of RJ is performed by ignoring the ecology of honeybees and by abusing honeybees. In the general beekeeping business, more than 200 artificial queen cell cups are set in one bee hive for mass production of RJ. However, RJ production that exceeds the capability of worker bees leads not only to health problem for the honeybees but also to problems relating to the supply to society of inactive RJ with poor nutritive values. For example, the content of 10-HDA in RJ is generally 1.4–1.6% even in the RJ produced in mainland China and Taiwan utilizing the nectar source. These values are too low in comparison with the content of 10-HDA in RJ produced by the author's group in Qinghai province, China (2.5–3.1%) (Japan Royal Jelly Co. LTD., 2008). I consider that the cause of this low content of 10-HDA is abuse of honeybees in excessive production of RJ. Although the beekeepers' wish to obtain a large amount of RJ by using the entire colonies is understandable, it deficiently provides abuse results in weakened colonies, susceptibility to diseases, and eventually to the constant deterioration of colonies.

#### *2.3.4 Problems in harvesting and processing RJ*

RJ has been projected as a functional food exerting various active functions and has been utilized since ancient times. It is natural to consider that there are close relations between the functionality of RJ and production methods thereof. It is well known that RJ is stored in the queen cell cups, in which queen bees are reared. RJ is secreted by young worker bees (aged 3–12 days after becoming mature insects), which account for only about 20% of the entire colony. Large amounts of pollen and honey are necessary for the worker bees to secrete RJ. Young worker bees eat them and secrete RJ for the larvae growing into queen bees in the artificial queen cell cups.

Traditionally in Japan, since it would impair honeybees and reduce the size of the colony, many beekeepers harvesting honey for their own use hated the production of RJ. Young worker bees will soon become foraging bees to collect flower nectar and pollen, completing their lifespan of 30–40 days, but their lifespan is shortened when they are made to secrete too much RJ. When the number of such worker bees increases, the colony will naturally become weak.

In addition, when many artificial queen cell cups are used, the quality of RJ suffers marked deterioration, and only watery RJ is secreted.

RJ is projected as a functional food containing various physiologically active substances. On the other hand, one of RJ's weaknesses is that it is a delicate substance deactivated when exposed to oxygen, ultraviolet light, heat, metals, and so on. Therefore, it is extremely important to filter the RJ neat fluid after harvest at the apiary and store at a low temperature. RJ is vulnerable to heat, and denaturation occurs immediately when left at ordinary temperature, since the major components are proteins. However, ordinary beekeeping involves a surprising lack of attention to the processing and storage of harvested RJ. In the conventional general beekeeping activities, the harvested RJ neat fluid is often filled into a plastic bag or container under a tent without filtration and is then stored at ordinary temperature under no protection from sunlight. At the end of the flowering season, the harvested RJ is collected and taken at last to the processing plant, where it is gathered, filtered for the first time, and frozen. Thereafter, freezing and thawing are repeated many times. During this process, 10-HDA is even artificially added in some case in order to comply with quality standards.

colony. Honeybees prepare honey by collecting nectar from autumn flowers and store pollen loads by collecting pollen. At the end of autumn, the worker bees form a cluster surrounding the queen bee and generate heat by rubbing their bodies together. Even when the outside temperature is lower than 0°C, the central temperature of the cluster is maintained at a certain temperature. Thus, the bee colony

The wintering worker bees survive even for 5 months. When spring approaches, the queen bee starts laying eggs, and the worker bees fly out of the hive entrance to collect nectar and pollen from the flowers coming out in the early spring. The lifespan of a queen bee eating only royal jelly reaches 5 years, and the queen bee winters four times in its life. In the severe wintering periods, the survival capability

However, at not a few apiaries emphasizing efficiency, honeybees are disposed of at the end of the season, since colony management during the wintertime is not cost-effective. As selective breeding for that purpose, inbreeding is performed for the artificial creation of queen bees. When honeybees are disposed of at the end of the season, the colony cannot be reinforced by natural selection, and the queen bee becomes smaller year by year. The worker bees born from such queen bees tend to show a high rate of teratogenicity. The RJ prepared by such worker bees is watery

In the natural condition, the queen bee performs a mating flight once or twice in its life, copulates with some of the accompanying drone bees of another colony and returns to the hive after obtaining seminal vesicles. In recent years, a new method was contrived for artificial mating of the queen bee and drone bees using a special device. This method may be effective for the purpose of obtaining high-quality colonies tentatively by selective breeding but tends to lead to inbreeding of bees with excellent characteristics. Some entomologists consider that inbreeding can prepare high-quality strains, and it is said that inbreeding was accelerated by such entomologists. The queen bees prepared in such way cannot avoid decreased vitality. While the lifespan of a normal queen bee is 3–5 years, it has become common for beekeepers lacking resources to dispose of colonies at the end of each season, since wintering requires not only feeding but also accommodation to protect the bees from wind/snow/rain. This is the cause of creating colonies with weak disease resistance. "Heterosis" is an unchanging principle in the living world, and "the Queen bee getting smaller in selective breeding for more production of RJ" in China is exactly the result of ignoring the habits of honeybees. Beekeepers should give

In the current beekeeping business, there is a strong tendency towards abuse of colonies are in pursuit of economic profits, and the changes occurring in the colonies during the current beekeeping process are depreciated. For example, beekeepers are not particularly interested in the series of problems such as deteriorated quality of colonies, decreased power of resistance, decreased pollen-collecting capability, decreased disease tolerance, and decreased content of active ingredients

Honeybees have survived a long history of more than 100 million years and have

established an orderly society. Honeybees are called "social insects", and there ought to be pursuit of a modality of beekeeping that is suitable for posterity.

is able to pass the winter.

of each colony is reinforced for the next season.

*Modern Beekeeping - Bases for Sustainable Production*

and composed of inferior components.

*2.3.2 Weakening of colony by inbreeding*

sufficient consideration to this issue hereafter.

*2.3.3 Harmful effects of overload on honeybees*

in apicultural products.

**116**

In production of RJ using artificial queen cell cups, the attention to be paid to the larva-grafting operations and timing of harvest is also lacking with regards to obtaining RJ of high activity and high purity. Even when there are artificial queen cell cups, these are ignored by young worker bees in charge of RJ secretion. RJ is poured into the artificial queen cell cups only when they contain larvae. Therefore, it is necessary to artificially graft the just-hatched larvae into the queen cell cups. In traditional RJ production, third-instar larvae (3 days after hatch) are ordinarily transferred.

over the world since the 1990s. Neonicotinoids act on the central nervous system of insects, and it is pointed out that neonicotinoids attached to nectar and pollen may

*Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping…*

In 2005, mass deaths of honeybees were reported in Iwate prefecture in Japan.

Neonicotinoids act on the neurotransmitter functions of living organisms. Acetylcholine (ACh) is one of the human neurotransmitters. It is contained at a high level in the nervous tissues. It is secreted from the ends of parasympathetic nerves and motor nerves in response to stimulation, and it is involved in neurotransmission. A neonicotinoid binds to nicotinic ACh receptors of nerve, shows the physiological effects like those of ACh and continually stimulates the nerves. In both humans and animals, a neonicotinoid is regarded as acting as a neurotransmitter on the autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junction and central nervous system

Honeybees are social insects forming a colony and displaying functions based on the entire bee hive. However, when the colony is weakened, that is, when a certain percentage of the bees die or disappear, the entire colony fails to function and ultimately collapses. Ironically, both the prefectural and national governments had instructed the farmers to use a neonicotinoid named dinotefuran which is less toxic than clothianidin. Honeybees became capable of avoiding death even when exposed to dinotefuran, but it was found that mature insects that had grown up from the larvae eating the pollen contaminated with dinotefuran as bee bread (food for larvae) will lose their sense of direction and become incapable of returning to their

Also, the use of antibiotics weakens honeybees. In China, since 1990, antibiotics such as tetracycline, streptomycin and chloramphenicol have been mixed into foods and given to honeybees to prevent communicable diseases. Furthermore, agrochemical spraying has been commenced in order to increase the agricultural crops. These agrochemicals are exerting bad influences on honeybees flying over the fields and mountains. Since the farmers and beekeepers did not receive adequate instruction about the antibiotics and agrochemicals, and the amounts used were far more than the limit levels, European countries and Japan have frequently identified this issue as a serious problem every time imported Chinese agricultural products are quarantined. In all the countries of the world, most of the homeland is contaminated with agrochemicals. In the livestock farms, large amounts of antibiotics such as tetracycline, streptomycin and chloramphenicol are used to prevent infections. Furthermore, in modern beekeeping, the disease resistance of bee colonies has decreased and large amounts of antibiotics are now used for honeybees to prevent infections such as foulbrood. It is unavoidable that apicultural products are contaminated

own hive, since the nerve receptors are impaired by the neonicotinoid.

**3. Proposal for Kikuji Yamaguchi method of natural beekeeping**

As described above, there are many problems in modern beekeeping that ought to be solved for the future of bee industry. Through my experiences and practices of

About 70 to 80% of honeybees from each hive suffered and died around each beehive. The cause was an agrochemical. A neonicotinoid agrochemical named clothianidin was used in the same area under the instruction of the prefectural government. Since conventional agrochemicals show neurological toxicity and are dangerous to persons sensitive to chemical substances, clothianidin being a neonicotinoid has come into use, and it was extensively sprayed as a shield bug

cause lethal damage to honeybees.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

having nicotinic ACh receptors.

directly or indirectly with these drugs.

**(KYAMENABEE)**

**119**

control, resulting in the mass deaths of honeybees.

The larvae grow fast, and a surprising body size is achieved in only 1 day. However, the first-instar larvae are too small, making the larva-grafting operations difficult, and not only is the early fluid given already with watery RJ mixed in but also the larva acceptance rate is also unfavorable. On the other hand the third-instar larvae are close to fourth-instar larvae in terms of being large in size, and the larva grafting operations are not difficult. The larvae, however, are too mature and ingest most of the ingredients essential for growth contained in RJ, resulting in low-quality of RJ for harvesting. There is another reason why third-instar larvae are not used. The operation to graft larvae into the artificial queen cell cups has to be performed quickly and carefully using a transferring tool made of feathers (called a "larvatransferring needle"), so that larvae do not collapse. However, since the queen bee is laying eggs successively all day and night, it is fairly difficult to judge the age in days for each hatched larva. The second-instar larvae and the third-instar larvae can be easily distinguished, since the body size is considerably different, but among the third-instar larvae it is almost impossible to determine the exact age in days (whether each larva is at the beginning of Day 3, at the end of Day 3 or at the beginning of Day 4).

Consequently, the problematic point is that the larvae to be reared as worker bees in the worker bee-rearing cells are given a small amount of RJ until Day 3 after hatching and thereafter are given pollen and honey as a mixed weaning food. Since the later third-instar larvae reared in the worker bee-rearing cells have begun receiving the mixed weaning food (pollen and honey), defecation may have started. If such the larvae are grafted into the artificial queen cell cups, defecation also inevitably occurs in the queen cell cups.

#### *2.3.5 Problems in quality control and production history disclosure*

Many of beekeepers do not perform filtration at the apiary. In the case of RJ, harvest is normally performed by collecting from the artificial queen cell cups with a bamboo spatula or an ink brush, etc. At this time, contamination from impurities such as hive scum and dust is unavoidable. It is therefore necessary to perform filtration immediately after harvesting. In addition, it is absolutely necessary to store at 2°C after harvesting. Cryopreservation must not be performed together with the impurities. However, at many apiaries, the harvested RJ is not filtered immediately at the apiary and is left for a long period at an ordinary temperature.

I first started contract manufacturing of RJ in Japan 54 years ago. Since that time, the traceability of production history has been given special importance. The word "traceability" is now familiar, and it is originally the responsibility of beekeepers to consumers to leave correct production records of apicultural products, since safety and functionality thereof was to be strictly assured.

#### *2.3.6 Problems of drug contamination and others*

Honeybees are vulnerable to agrochemicals. Honeybees have been seriously affected by the neonicotinoid insecticides that have been used as agrochemicals all *Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89647*

over the world since the 1990s. Neonicotinoids act on the central nervous system of insects, and it is pointed out that neonicotinoids attached to nectar and pollen may cause lethal damage to honeybees.

In 2005, mass deaths of honeybees were reported in Iwate prefecture in Japan. About 70 to 80% of honeybees from each hive suffered and died around each beehive. The cause was an agrochemical. A neonicotinoid agrochemical named clothianidin was used in the same area under the instruction of the prefectural government. Since conventional agrochemicals show neurological toxicity and are dangerous to persons sensitive to chemical substances, clothianidin being a neonicotinoid has come into use, and it was extensively sprayed as a shield bug control, resulting in the mass deaths of honeybees.

Neonicotinoids act on the neurotransmitter functions of living organisms. Acetylcholine (ACh) is one of the human neurotransmitters. It is contained at a high level in the nervous tissues. It is secreted from the ends of parasympathetic nerves and motor nerves in response to stimulation, and it is involved in neurotransmission. A neonicotinoid binds to nicotinic ACh receptors of nerve, shows the physiological effects like those of ACh and continually stimulates the nerves. In both humans and animals, a neonicotinoid is regarded as acting as a neurotransmitter on the autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junction and central nervous system having nicotinic ACh receptors.

Honeybees are social insects forming a colony and displaying functions based on the entire bee hive. However, when the colony is weakened, that is, when a certain percentage of the bees die or disappear, the entire colony fails to function and ultimately collapses. Ironically, both the prefectural and national governments had instructed the farmers to use a neonicotinoid named dinotefuran which is less toxic than clothianidin. Honeybees became capable of avoiding death even when exposed to dinotefuran, but it was found that mature insects that had grown up from the larvae eating the pollen contaminated with dinotefuran as bee bread (food for larvae) will lose their sense of direction and become incapable of returning to their own hive, since the nerve receptors are impaired by the neonicotinoid.

Also, the use of antibiotics weakens honeybees. In China, since 1990, antibiotics such as tetracycline, streptomycin and chloramphenicol have been mixed into foods and given to honeybees to prevent communicable diseases. Furthermore, agrochemical spraying has been commenced in order to increase the agricultural crops. These agrochemicals are exerting bad influences on honeybees flying over the fields and mountains. Since the farmers and beekeepers did not receive adequate instruction about the antibiotics and agrochemicals, and the amounts used were far more than the limit levels, European countries and Japan have frequently identified this issue as a serious problem every time imported Chinese agricultural products are quarantined.

In all the countries of the world, most of the homeland is contaminated with agrochemicals. In the livestock farms, large amounts of antibiotics such as tetracycline, streptomycin and chloramphenicol are used to prevent infections. Furthermore, in modern beekeeping, the disease resistance of bee colonies has decreased and large amounts of antibiotics are now used for honeybees to prevent infections such as foulbrood. It is unavoidable that apicultural products are contaminated directly or indirectly with these drugs.
