The earliest use of apitherapy (the pharmacological use of honeybee products) to treat illnesses was by the ancient Chinese, Greeks and Romans. Greek physician, Galen (129-200 AD) is said to have used honey and bee venom to treat baldness! Bees are still used today as a type of ‘insect acupuncture’, and is particularly popular in the alternative treatment of auto-immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

http://www.beelief.com/content.asp?sectionID=35

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apitherapy
http://www.wordspy.com/words/apitherapy.asp