Best Uses for Bee Products

Everyone knows the importance of bees. Even people who do not like bees or are allergic to bees still understand that bees play an essential role in the food chain. Without bees, we would be hard-pressed to make enough food for very many years after the last bee dies. Therefore, it is vital to people like me, Matthew Davies, to make sure we take care of bees.

For over ten years now, I have maintained my bee colony on my property. I do regular checks on my bees, I provide them with everything they need, and in return, they provide me with some pretty amazing things as well. Below, I am going to share some of the things you can get from bees by merely taking care of your own.

On a side note, make sure that you are entirely within the law when you are keeping a colony of bees. Many regulations exist, and you need to make sure you are not breaking the law for your state, county, or city.

Honey

No surprise here: bees make honey. When it comes to sweeteners, you don’t get much better than honey. As a matter of fact, in most recipes, you can replace sugar with honey at a one to one ratio. That means if your recipe states it needs one cup of sugar, you can easily replace it with one cup of honey. From a dietary standpoint, many nutritionists believe this to be a healthier alternative.

The reason honey is better for you than sugar is that honey is lower in fructose and contains trace amounts of other minerals not found in sugar. Additionally, it is “pre-processed” and is absorbed slower by the body. This reduced absorption means you will not have the spike in blood sugar that you have when you ingest sugar.

Honey can be stored for a long time at room temperature, provided it has been sealed properly. Remember, once you open a container of honey, you will have to fight against oxidation. The more oxygen that the honey is exposed to, the faster it will crystalize. Should this happen, all you need to do is gently warm the honey. I suggest using multiple hot water baths. Do not boil in water. All you need to do is fill your sink with hot tap water and let the container come up to temperature. Give it a quick stir and then repeat until it is back to its original consistency.

Bee Pollen

As we all know, pollen is the male seed of flowers. Every year when pollen counts are high, this is trees attempting to mate. Since they cannot “walk” up to a tree, they find attractive; they need to send their pollen out.

Flowers work a little differently. They have pollen inside their petals that can be transferred by bugs. Most of the time, the bug is a bee. Bees will go in search of nectar, and in exchange, the pollen sticks to the bee. Once the bee is satisfied by one flower, it moves to another. In the course of a few minutes, a bee can pollinate several flowers.

What does this have to do with uses for bee pollen? Well, not all of the pollen is deposited once they are full of nectar. The leftover pollen will get stored in the walls of the hive. Over time, there will be a buildup of pollen. As beekeepers, we can extract this pollen in its hardened form. In the bee community, we call this bee bread. If you are looking to harvest more pollen, you can install a pollen trap on the entrances to your hive.

Bee pollen is consumable by humans. Many claim that bee pollen can improve athletic performance, aid in weight loss, and even provide relief from migraines. Major health organizations say they don’t have enough evidence to substantiate these claims, but believers swear by it. If you need a recipe for how to consume this, I suggest you look up bee pollen recipes using your favorite search engine.

Beeswax

This sought-after byproduct of bees is probably the one thing people know about as much as honey. There is a reason that it is so expensive, though. For every one hundred pounds of honey, beekeepers only get about a pound of wax. Sure, if you add that up across all the beehives in the world, that can add to a lot of beeswax. However, there is hardly any left for casual consumption.

Some of the uses for beeswax include DIY modeling clay, candles, furniture polish, skincare products, and crayons. As you can see, most of that has an industrial application. Therefore, many times you are unable to get your hands on raw beeswax. Major companies already have deals with beekeepers to buy the wax.

If you can’t find extra, you can at least enjoy the products provided by them. I know that I have many uses for beeswax around my homestead and use it every chance I get.

Royal Jelly

Last but certainly not least, royal jelly is another consumable product. Royal jelly is made for future queens in the hive. The jelly can help the queen live up to fifty times longer than a normal worker bee. Many health and longevity experts dedicate their lives to figuring out the secret of the royal jelly.

If you are looking to consume this or provide to another hive looking for a bee, you need to tread lightly. It would help if you only harvested royal jelly when there is a surplus. If you need to know more about royal jelly, I suggest you contact your local bee expert.

Conclusion

Bees get a bad name because they sting and have the potential to kill people who are allergic to their venom. It is important to note that most bees are not aggressive. They only attack under certain circumstances. As long as you practice safe interaction with bees, you can avoid this pain. I, Matthew Davies, hope you have found this list helpful and continue to read my bee-related blogs.