Petro Prokopovych

Petro Ivanovych Prokopovych
Born
Петро Іванович Прокопович

29 June 1775
Mytchenky (Митченки), Russian Empire
Died1850 (aged 7475)
Palchyky (Пальчики), Russian Empire
NationalityUkrainian
Alma materNaUKMA
Known forFounder of commercial beekeeping
ChildrenStepan Petrovych Velykdan

Petro Prokopovych (1775–1850, Ukrainian: Петро Прокопович) was a Ukrainian beekeeper who made revolutionary contributions to the practice. They include the founding of commercial beekeeping and the invention of the first movable frame hive. He introduced novelties in traditional beekeeping that allowed great progress in the practice. Among his most important inventions was a hive frame in a separate honey chamber of his beehive. He also invented a crude queen excluder between brood and honey chambers. Petro Prokopovych was also the first to ever model a 'bee beard' after delineating and calculating 'bee swarm behaviour", inspiring students for generations.