Apitherapy is as old as beekeeping itself. It was written about by Hippocrates, and there are many mentions of it in Chinese texts that are 2,000 years old. Apitherapy began as part of folk medicine and continues to be used today to treat a range of conditions and diseases as well as to promote overall health and well-being. In some southern European countries, apitherapy is a medically recognized treatment. Apitherapy includes the use of honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and bee venom.

The American Apitherapy Society serves our membership and the medical profession by:

• Collecting information on apitherapy and maintaining a library for our members, which contains printed information, raw data, audio-visual materials, and a database.

• Informing the medical profession and the general public in matters relating to apitherapy, by publishing a subscription-based journal and conducting workshops.

Our members live around the world. We hope that after viewing our website, you'll want to become a member of the AAS. As a member you will receive a subscription to our apitherapy journal, opportunities to use and train in apitherapy and meet our apitherapist members, and other society members. Membership is open to everyone and we welcome new members. Please note that by agreement with the AAS members, our membership list, including apitherapists, is only available to paid AAS members. Please see our membership page for more information.

The efficacy of bee venom treatments for arthritis and other inflammatory/ medical conditions has not been adequately evaluated in the U.S.A. Bee venom is only approved for desensitization of persons allergic to bee stings. Thus, the AAS makes no claim about the safety or efficacy of honeybee products and does not endorse any form of apitherapy. The AAS makes available their network and membership list only to AAS members of people who are using apitherapy. Articles which appear on the web site or in the Journal of the American Apitherapy Society as well as private or public representations by anyone are the personal opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent that of the AAS.