Let’s Get to the Point … Stingers

 

Foraging honey bee in alfalfa

When you mention honey bees, the first two things people usually think of are honey and stings. One incredibly sweet, the other … not so much!

It is certainly true that if you see a honey bee working, it is best to leave well enough alone. A foraging bee’s sole focus is to collect as much nectar and pollen as possible. Stinging is a defense mechanism and used only as a last resort to defend herself or her hive.

Honey bees that sting ... and those that don't

The queen bee

Queen honey bee

The queen bee can sting. She has a smooth, slightly curved stinger and she can sting repeatedly. The chances of you getting stung by a queen bee are pretty close to nil. She saves her venom for her queen rivals. Once she has established that she is sole queen of the hive she can no longer sting at all.

If you find a queen bee (again not likely unless you’re looking inside a hive) she’s pretty defenseless. But believe me, there are numerous other bees there to do the job!

The worker bee

Magnified tip of a worker bee stinger

It’s the worker bee that defends the queen and the hive. With a sharp, barbed stinger, she’s well equipped to do the job. Once she stings she will fly away leaving her stinger, poison sack, and muscles from her abdomen to pump the poison in.

The drone

Well, those lazy drones live up to all expectations. They don’t sting. They aren’t even equipped with stingers! They maintain their reputation as the cute, friendly honey bees!

What happens to you after a sting

Removing a honey bee stinger

The first order of business is to remove the stinger. The best plan of action is to scrape the stinger out with a fingernail, credit card, etc. What you don’t want to do is pinch the poison sack and inject more venom. Once the stinger has been removed ice and a topical ‘bug bite’ ointment can be applied. Old time beekeepers have been known to hold a penny (remember those??) on a sting to reduce pain and swelling.

Reactions to bee stings can range from a slight tender spot to full anaphylactic shock which can result in death. Someone who has been stung should be monitored for ANY symptoms that indicate an allergic reaction, and appropriate measures taken.

What happens to the worker bee after a sting

Worker bee after stinging

After stinging, her life is over. She can live up to an hour before dying. As you can imagine, stinging is not something she wants to do, but she will not hesitate to give her life in defense of her hive, or herself.

If you accidentally put your hand down on a honey bee, she will give you a ‘buzzing’ warning. As long as you haven’t squished her too badly, she’s usually happy to just get away!

Benefits of bee venom

Believe or not, there most definitely are benefits to bee venom. If you happen to have arthritis, and just happen to get stung by a honey bee … you might just want to leave that stinger in. Bee venom is known to relieve the symptoms and pain of arthritis and studies are being done on bee venom and MS.

Chances of being stung

The actual chances of being stung by a honey bee are pretty slim. Most stings happen when someone steps on, sits on or accidentally squishes a honey bee. If by chance a foraging bee decides to visit you, it is best to not try to brush her off (sometimes hard in that panic mode!!) but blow or shake her off.

Mistaken identity

You are much more likely to be bit or stung by a wasp, yellow jacket or hornet. These insects are quite aggressive unlike our peace-loving honey bees!

 

Worker honey bee

Wasp

Propolis - Nature's Antibiotic

Propolis

During cold and flu season everyone seems to have their own magical cure ... and I am no different! Mine, of course, comes from the hive. The minute someone sneezes or coughs I am very quick to recommend, and usually share, my no fail cure, propolis!!

Most people know that bees collect nectar and pollen (or they should if they're reading my blog!!) Honey bees also collect resin from trees. Preferably conifer and poplar trees. This is carried back to the hive on her back legs, just like pollen. This resin is mixed with a little bit of wax and water and becomes an incredibly sticky product called propolis.

Propolis in the hive

Propolis in the hive

Those innovative honey bees have thought of everything, including an all-purpose antibiotic, antiseptic, antifungal, and antiviral substance. With up to 60,000 individual honey bees in one hive, it's important to maintain a clean environment. 

If that isn't amazing enough, propolis is also the perfect compound to seal and water-proof the bee hive! A drafty location does not present a problem. Propolis production goes into high gear and every crack and hole is sealed with this multipurpose 'bee glue.' This effectively weather-proofs a hive. When you see bee boxes stacked, you can be assured each box is securely 'glued' to the one above and below with a generous amount of propolis.

Every cell in the hive is polished with propolis. A queen bee will inspect each cell for cleanliness before she's willing to lay a precious egg in it. Honey cells are also sterilized with propolis.

Propolis for beekeepers

For beekeepers working in the hives, propolis is a bit of a nuisance. It is very sticky, and pulling boxes, or supers, apart to check hives requires special tools to break the propolis seal. Although, a hive full of propolis is generally going to be a healthy hive!

Propolis for all of us

Honey bees use propolis to sterilize their hive, we use it as a natural antibiotic. Unlike honey, propolis is not sweet and does not taste good. Even so, millions of people continue to take it in its various forms.

Propolis in capsule form

Capsules. Probably the easiest form to take. This convenient way allows you to enjoy all the benefits, without the nasty taste.

Propolis in spray form

Liquid spray. This direct application method is most effective for sore throats, sores in the mouth or dental/gum issues. There is the unpleasant taste factor, but the effectiveness makes it well worthwhile. In this form, propolis should be in everybody's first aid kit. It is amazing for disinfecting and healing cuts, abrasions and also bug bites/stings.

Tincture. For children and people who can't swallow capsules, this is a nice option. A few drops can be added to a small glass of juice, usually masking the taste. Propolis is highly recommended in this form for topical application.

Propolis in powder form

Powder. This versatile option is the most potent and can be added to other applications. It is often included in soaps, creams and ointments, or mixed with a little bit and honey for a stronger dose.

Propolis as a medical treatment

Kills bacteria

Treat asthma

Prevents cavities

Anticancer activity

Reduces heat stress

Treatment for warts

Treat food poisoning

Treat food poisoning

Lowers blood pressure

Treat seasonal allergies

Anti-inflammatory effects

Promotes athletic performance

Reduces fat and cholesterol levels

Protects against cell phone radiation

Helps build and maintain healthy bone tissue

Propolis and general health

I like to take one or two propolis capsules daily to maintain a healthy immune system. If I think I might be getting sick, I simply up the dose!

In the past, studies on beekeepers have shown they tend to be one of the healthiest, long-living groups of people. It was discovered, that while they tend to sell most of the honey their hives produce, they were eating the 'hive droppings' which consist mainly of propolis and bee pollen. Today, these 'hive droppings' are purposefully collected and shared with the rest of the population. Interesting!!


This is just another amazing product that is so good for us from that most amazing creature, the honey bee.

Propolis



Beeswax Candles

Most people are familiar with the lovely ambiance of a burning beeswax candle. Aside from pure enjoyment, there are other reasons that should make beeswax your candle of choice.

There is the beautiful soft light and delicate fragrance exclusive to a beeswax candle. But, on a more practical note … a beeswax candle will burn longer, hotter and burns negative ions. This means it is literally cleaning the air you breathe. Paraffin candles, by the way, are a petroleum product.

History

Beeswax candles have a long and important history with humans. The Egyptians are given credit for the very first beeswax candle, and this around 3000 BC. Through many thousands of years it remained the cleanest, and most pleasant smelling, source of light.

Wax Production – a honey bee’s perspective

Wax flakes on a worker bee's abdomen

The important job of wax production falls to, of course, the amazing worker bee. At some point during her first three weeks in the hive as a house bee she will produce wax. She has eight glands on her abdomen (last part of her body) that produce very thin pieces of wax.

Capped and uncapped honey comb

Comb hanging from a frame

Obviously bees are pretty happy with a dark hive and do not require wax for candles and light. Wax for them is the perfect storage solution. They use the paper-thin pieces of wax to make comb. Comb is beeswax shaped into perfect hexagon cells. These cells are used to store honey, pollen and propolis, or used by the queen to lay eggs.

Bee chain hanging from frame on left

Like everything in a beehive, it’s a community affair and building comb is no exception. A bee chain is created. The wax producing bees hand the wax pieces to the construction bees. Construction bees chew, soften and shape the wax. It is then handed to the engineer bees that place the wax to create those amazing, perfect hexagons.

Comb with a couple layers

A look down at some tunnels

Some engineer honey bees tend to be a little more artistic and design some beautiful comb structures! Since worker bees are all female … they like to coordinate the color of wax. A light colored cell will receive a light colored cap, and a dark colored cell will receive a dark colored cap. Makes perfectly good sense to me!

Wax Production – a beekeeper’s perspective

Beekeepers generally only harvest the wax caps (or cappings) that were cut off the frames to allow the honey to be spun out. The rest of the wax cells are left on the wooden frame/plastic foundation and stored for next year. This way, the bees can do a little cell repair work and put their time and energy into filling the cells with honey.

Sticky bits of wax and honey

Cappings are usually a pretty sticky mess of honey and beeswax. A bit of a daunting task to separate, not to mention, extremely messy! The first step is to soak and rinse as much honey off the wax as possible. This is definitely an outside job. Honey is a very good compound if you want to plug drainpipes!

With that accomplished, the wax needs to be filtered. The wax cappings are heated in a solar oven and filtered through paper towel. You are left with a clean, filtered block of beeswax ready to be made in candles.

Finished beeswax candle

This is the fun part! Beeswax should always be melted in a double boiler as it is quite flammable. Once in a liquid state and at the proper temperature, it is poured into a candle mold with a wick and left to dry and harden. Once removed, the wick will be trimmed and it’s ready to enjoy!!

Not only is honey a precious commodity, beeswax is may be even more precious! Wax production is very labor intensive for bees. Honey bees must consume between six to eight pounds of honey in order to produce only one pound of wax!!