Bees in a permaculture system

thinking...
Having written three (or is it four) articles on beekeeping for PIE, how can I explicitly talk about bees in a Permaculture system.
Obviously there are the two main sets of Principles we talk about.
If I combine David Holmgrens "Obtain a yield," his "Catch and store energy" and the 'Introduction to Permaculture,' (and generally quoted) "each element performs many functions" (and we could throw in Davids "Value biological resources" for good measure) we can immediately see how bees stack up well.
The two main material yields from a bee hive are both used as forms of energy: honey as food energy for people and bees, and wax as combustion energy for lighting. (hence the name of the book 'Sweetness and Light.')
The many functions of a beehive in a P/c system: honey production, pollen collection, wax production, propolis production, guard services, pollination, duck food...
and if I can work out how to make use of it, airconditioning...
Add in David's "Use small and slow solutions" as well, because even someone with no backyard can sometimes find somewhere for a beehive: the smallest livestock.
Looking at the situation in reverse (kind of) people who don't keep bees can help out by increasing the plant biodiversity in their systems, and permaculture designs tend to encourage such biodiversity. In fact, anyone who has a vegetable gardfen should consider planting useful nectar and pollen species for the lean times, to encourage the health and strength of any local beehives. A potentialy useful resource in the quest for bee-helping biodiversity is something like 'Honey Flora of VIctoria' published by the dept of agriculture, Victoria (my copy, from 1973 has a cover price of two dollars...)
Permaculture Melbourne members, please disregard this blog entry, as I will rewrite it more cohesively for the next (but one) edition of PIE.