The exact origins of apitherapy are difficult to pinpoint
and can be traced back to ancient Egypt, Greece and has
been practiced in China for 3-5000 years (Rose, 1994). Use
of honey and other bee products can be also traced back
thousands of years and healing properties are included in
many religious texts including the Veda, Bible and Quran
[5], [6]. Now it is being practical all over the world. In the
USA the history of apitherapy goes back about 100 years,
it was practiced by several prominent doctors including
Dr. Bodog Beck, who started treating people in his New
York City office in the late 1920's. Dr. Beck's book "Bee
Venom Therapy" has been classic for 60 years. The last
surviving student of Dr. Beck is Middlebury, Vermont
beekeeper named Charles Marz, who was known by the
many as the "King of bee venom therapy". He had been
practicing apithirapy for over 60 years with remarkable
results, and most of his experience had been with treating
arthritis, but his success was with multiple sclerosis (MS)
[7].
Among the many species of insects, only very few
have the capability of defending themselves with a sting
and venom injection during stinging. All insects that can
sting are members of the order Hymenoptera, which
includes ants, wasps and bees. Since the sting is believed
to have evolved from the egg-laying apparatus of the
ancestral, hymenopteran species, only females can sting.
The sting is always at or near the abdominal end, rather
than the head. Therefore the pain inflicted by a honeybee,