Humans and honeybees have shared a close relationship for ages. Bees have been captured & reared for the production of valuable honey. Over a long time, captive honey bees began to outcompete wild honey bees, which were also losing the environment as their local forests were cut down. Then, in the 1940s, beekeepers in Africa began to see outbreaks of a harmful parasite - the Varroa parasite - which immediately spread to hives in Europe and the Americas.