The relationship between honeybees and humans has continued unbroken since ancient times. Beekeeping —— also known as apiculture —— was already being carried out in ancient Egypt, more than 4,000 years ago. While the substances produced by honeybees have been prized through the ages as precious sources of nutrition, today honeybees are renowned as insects that are also essential to the production of agricultural crops, due to their role as pollinators that carry pollen between plants. At the same time, there are many as-yet-unexplained mysteries concerning these highly evolved social insects, which display diverse and complex social behaviors consisting of ingenious communication, such as their figure-eight waggle dance. Hopes for future research are high.