By the community, for the community

People ask so many questions about bees, I thought it would be good to answer some here.


What is honey?

When bees bring nectar home from plants, they carry it in their honey stomachs where they add enzymes to it. This both alters its acidity and turns it into honey.

Once back at the hive they regurgitate it into the cells of the honeycomb. They then fan it to evaporate excess water and seal it into wax cells so the air can’t cause it to ferment.


Honey which was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, was perfectly preserved after 3000 years.

It consists mainly of different sugars; 38% fructose, 31% glucose, 17% water, and 7% maltose. It is also rich in trace elements, e.g. potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium.


Amazingly the medical world has recognised several health benefits from hive products as a result of clinical trials. Honey can be taken by mouth for coughs, hay fever and sore stomachs. It can also be used topically for treating burns, wound healing and prevention of ulcers. It is applied on sterile gauze or a ready soaked dressing. Some hospitals also use it to help prevent sore mouths and ulcers, for people receiving radiation treatment. It has been found to help reduce healing time after some surgeries.


Although honey is thought to be a sterile medium,  it is always sterilised first for hospital usage because very occasionally it contains a bacterial spore.For this reason it is best NOT to give it to babies and small toddlers, neither as food nor medicinally.


Pollen is often advocated as a superfood when taken as a supplement. There is NO clinically researched evidence to support this. However the tiny amounts that occur naturally in honey can be useful as a guard against hay fever, if the honey is local.


Propolis is a useful agent for healing sore gastric linings and is also used in cough medicines and to protect gastric linings, especially in Eastern Europe and Russia. It is made from the resin of trees, which bees collect, to use for sticking things together and plugging gaps in the hive.


Wax and honey are often used in cosmetics of course wax has traditionally been used for making candles and in polish.


What other uses do bees have?


The most important role of bees is pollination. The pollen from male flowers sticks to their furry bodies. If the bee then visits a female flower some pollen will rub off inside and fertilise the flower.

Only then can it bear fruit. Unlike some other pollinators bees are extra valuable pollinators because they actively seek out plants with pollen because they feed their brood on it, unlike some other pollinating insects and birds.


They play a vital role in the survival of many crops and plant species, pollinating about one sixth of the plants on earth and about one third of our food plants. Not all plant species need to be insect pollinated, but many do.


Honey bee and bumble bee pollination is estimated to be worth £200m annually to British agriculture, so we must protect our bees.


The most bizarre use for honeybees that I know of is currently being developed in the USA. They are being trained as explosives detectors for use at airports.

Teams of three bees are harnessed into a cage and fed sugar syrup. As soon as they smell it they poke out their proboscis, (tongues). Then they are fed syrup with a trace of explosive in it. It only takes six trials before they extend their proboscis for the scent of explosive alone… and they are very reliable

It’s much cheaper and quicker than training dogs, so don’t be surprised if one day soon, you are checked out by a team of honeybees.  Poor things.


Our only remaining colony of bees looks well. They are all tucked up for the winter now. The mouse-­guard is in place and entrance narrowed. There are plenty of stores and a bit of carpet sitting on the crown board to keep the bees warm.

I still need to clean and fumigate the empty equipment. Not much else needs to be done for a while.


Val Hicken


No. 155  Feb - Mar  2016