The production of derivatives of apiculture: honey and wax, was important in the past for Candín, Ibias and Navia de Suarna. The sale of these products was a useful income supplement for the rural mountain communities of the Ancares. Such was their importance that the number of beehives in this area was also included in the inventory of the Catastro of the Marqués de la Ensenada. The township of Ibias had 3575 hives, 6-7 per inhabitant if we believe the population estimates the very Catastro had. The existence of these beehives is attested from the 18th to the 20th centuries. There are further references to the export of honey and beeswax in the Diccionario done by Miñano (1826-1829).
Apiaries are now found in areas of easy access, with modern beehives which facilitate increased production. There is even a local honey packaging business. Nonetheless, it is the remains of the older installations which provide a view of how important bees were in the past. Cortíos, cortiños, colmeales and talameiros are apiaries designed to protect the hives from bears. The first set are oval or circular enclosures protected by walls which are sometimes up to 4 m high, with outer eaves and a small door. The talameiro, which within the IVGA landscape is found in the valleys of the Aviouga and Ibias rivers, is a square structure which is more than 2 m high, upon which boards provide the setting for the hives. The hives themselves were done within hollow trunks (trobos) or cork.
The only two wax presses to be found are in Villasumil (Candín). Once the honey was extracted, the beeswax was melted using a simple lever beam press similar to those used for wine. Until the 20th century, the people of the Ancares were famous for their trade in this type of wax. They bought the wax in various places, refined it in their own presses, and then sold it.