Aristaeus, the greek god of bee-keeping.

Arista, short for Aristaeus, is a god from the Greek mythology. Aristaeus was the son of Apollo and the huntress Cyrene, raised on nectar and ambrosia. The Myrtle-nymphs taught him several skills related to the preparation of food, hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping.

The Sacrifice

Aristaeus travelled a lot. In one of his travels, the myth has Aristaeus chasing Eurydice (wife of Orpheus) when she was bitten by a serpent and died. Kept responsible for her death, Aristaeus was punished. Aristaeus’ bees became unhealthy and began to die. Aristaeus went to the fountain Arethusa and was advised to establish altars, sacrifice cattle and leave their carcasses. As Aristaeus duly made these sacrifices, new healthy swarms of bees rose from the carcasses…

(from Wikipedia)