The honey cave is an experiment in beekeeping by Leo Laschenz who was looking for a way to harvest honey without killing the bees. He began the experiment after he started to notice that many cases of beekeepers were having trouble keeping their bees alive because they insisted on using pesticides. Laschenz decided that the only way to be able to harvest honey without harming the bees was through his idea of creating a honey cave where he could collect all of his captured liquid from different beehives around various areas. The liquid would run down into jars, which are then placed outside during winter months so that it can freeze and become solid. The honey is then harvested once the winter is over. Laschenz began his idea in 1912 in a small town in Tennessee called Combe, but was forced to stop when World War I broke out. He ultimately resumed his experiment when he moved to a rural community in New York called Geneseo, where he was able to construct a honey cave from scratch. Laschenz was also joined by Walter Orr Roberts who helped him with the experiment by adding indoor beehives and beekeeping tools. Initial stages of the experiment were very promising as Laschenz and Roberts managed to produce almost 50 gallons of liquid honey during their first year which is much more than an average beehive could produce. However, the two men were forced to stop when the bees managed to escape their cave and move to a nearby farmhouse right after Laschenz and Roberts had harvested all of their honey. When the bees escaped, they managed to reach a barn in an attempt to escape from a farmer by a name of Alfred Honeycutt, who was also in charge of being away from his bees for most of the day. The farmer, Honeycutt, even went as far as shooting at the bees in order to chase them away from his home. However, the bees managed to survive this incident and even made it back into their cave. Years later, in the 1930s, Laschenz and Roberts decided to try their experiment again with smaller quantities of liquid honey because they didn't have enough money to construct a bigger cave. This new attempt was successful thanks to the fact that Laschenz and his partner had more time on their hands for this new project since they were not busy with their regular jobs anymore. After the winter of 1937, Laschenz and Orr Roberts harvested over 20 gallons of honey from their "new bee colony" which is much more than what they had managed to get during the initial stages of the experiment and finally managed to produce more than an average beehive could produce. The experiment was halted in the 1950s after Laschenz and his partner sold their honey to a local grocer for over $300,000. The honey cave is still operational today and makes its home in the Federation of Agriculture building in New York City. It sits on display right next to the world's smallest cow which is not much larger than a regular chicken. Visitors can drop by and visit the cave to see it in person and also see some of the jars of honey that Laschenz has managed to collect over time.Bibliography: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) * https://web.archive. 81eaaddfaf 11
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