Apitherapy

References to possible medical properties of bee products can be found in Chinese, Korean, Russian, Egyptian and Greek traditional medicine practices.

[8] More recent alternative medicine practice is attributed to the Hungarian physician Bodog F. Beck who coined the term "bee venom therapy" in 1935,[5] and to beekeeper Charles Mraz (1905–1999) in the latter half of the twentieth century.

[10][11] Humans have historically used bee products in various ways: beeswax was used in casting metals and making incendiary weapons, honey was used for food and religious offerings, propolis was used as an adhesive, and pollen was used for agricultural work such as plant breeding.

[17] In March 2018 it was reported that a 55-year-old woman died after receiving "live bee acupuncture", suffering a severe anaphylactic episode which the apitherapy practitioner did not respond to by administering adrenaline.

[18] While stabilized by ambulance personnel on the way to the hospital, she died a few weeks later from complications resulting in multiple organ failure.