As backyard beekeeping becomes more prevalent, consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of honeybees not only for pollination purposes but also for the products that can be harvested from the hive.
Honey for Culinary and Medicinal Use
For as long as honeybees and humanity have co-existed, humans have been harvesting honey for culinary and medicinal uses. Its use as a sweetener in Europe and the American Colonies prior to the widespread availability of sugar made beehives a common kitchen garden fixture and the women of the house would often tend to the hive as part of their general household chores.
Honey's antibacterial properties lends it to wound care. Many homeopathic and natural remedies for everything from sore throats and gastrointestinal distress to emotional instability and fatigue involve dosing with honey. Many believe that ingesting a tablespoon of locally produced honey a day can act as an innoculent to help counteract seasonal allergies.
Currently there are not many officially approved medical uses, but Manuka honey is being used within the medical community to treat burn victims. Its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties as well as its ability to help regenerate new tissue is said to promote more successful healing rates and shorter recovery times.
Beeswax for Candles and More
Although wax can be harvested as an individual product, it is most often considered a by-product of harvesting honey. Wax caps are removed from the honey cells prior to removing the liquid and are collected and melted down into blocks which can later be used for various products. Candles are the most obvious use and can be made from wax that is melted down and poured into molds or by using a sheet of comb that is rolled into a taper. Beeswax is preferable for candles than paraffin wax, which is petroleum based, because beeswax generally burns cleaner and longer.
Because beeswax is all natural, it is also used as an additive to lip balms, soaps, furniture polishes and varnishes, and can be used as a preservative and a lubricant. Quilters often lubricate their needles by plunging them into a small chunk of wax so that the needle will move easily through several layers of cloth. Carpenters will sometimes use beeswax in a similar fashion to ease the insertion of spindles into chair backs or similar constructions.
Pollen as a Natural Supplement
While it is fairly common knowledge that honeybees forage for nectar, it is less commonly known that they also forage for pollen. They collect pollen on small hairs on their back legs that they store in cells, as they do nectar, to feed to larvae as they develop. This pollen can be collected from the bees as they enter the hive by using a simple device called a pollen trap, which essentially reduces the passage into the hive and scrapes the pollen off of their legs as they enter. The pollen pellets can then be dried and used as a food supplement in baked goods or ingested directly.
As a natural supplement, pollen is used for general health and healing as well as to lower cholesterol and to fight allergies. Users with seasonal allergies should use bee pollen with care as it is essentially raw flower pollen and it can easily induce an allergy attack. Pollen is very high in protein, mostly in the form of amino acids, and B vitamins. Like honey, pollen contains some antibiotic properties and is, therefore, sometimes indicated for fighting colds and flu and can be helpful for stomach ulcers.
Another Sticky Substance
Propolis is a very sticky yellow to brown substance. Bees use propolis as a glue and a caulk within the hive. It is made from the saps or resins of plants and trees and while it can be quite gummy and sticky in warmer weather, in cold weather it hardens fast and acts as a sealant for cracks in the hive. Similarly, humans can harvest propolis to make furniture varnishes.
Propolis is also used, like most other hive products, as a wound dressing because of its ability to fight bacteria and promote tissue regeneration. It is sometimes use for dental applications and is an additive in gums and some cosmetic products.
Royal Jelly for Holistic Well-Being
While most backyard beekeepers will not have the ability to produce royal jelly in quantity, it is a very popular product that is thought to promote longevity and to boost immunity. The jelly is a substance secreted from the heads of worker bees to feed to developing larvae. Larvae that will be developed into queen bees are fed royal jelly for a longer period of time than that of drones and worker bees. Because royal jelly produces a fertile, long lived and strong queen bee, many cultures believe the jelly will provide them with the same characteristics.
Although there are many cosmetic products that contain royal jelly, it is more widely believed that the effects are most beneficial when it is taken internally and allowed to react systemically. Like pollen, royal jelly is high in proteins and the B vitamins and promotes general well-being, helps reduce stress and increase stamina.
Beekeeping for Dummies, Howland Blackiston, For Dummies, 2009.
The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture; Amos Ives Root, et. al., A.I. Root Company, 2006.
Bee Pollen and Your Health, Carlson Wade, Keats Publishing, 1978.
Bees Don't Get Arthritis, Fred Malone, Academy Books, 1979.
Draper Bee, *"Propolis Info" (accessed February 27, 2010).
Jessica Ferguson - Jess-of-all-trades! You name it, I'm probably interested in it. 15+ years experience as a gardener and naturalist and all that comes ...
