Propolis

What Is the Difference between Royal Jelly and Propolis?

Honey, Pollen, Propolis, Royal Jelly

Honey is a complex substance and contains enzymes, plant pigments, organic acids, esters, antibiotic agents, trace minerals; chrysin, quercetin, and kaempferol – among many other components. (1) The quality, nutritional value, medicinal attributes, and taste of honey varies depending on what flowers the bees collected from. For instance, the revered, and more expensive, manuka honey that you may have seen on shelves is from beehives in Australia and New Zealand made specifically from the nectar of the manuka tree. Manuka honey is known to have extremely high antibacterial activity. (3) Honey that is made primarily from one type of flower nectar takes on qualities of that nectar. Buckwheat honey is generally darker and richer in flavor, while neem honey may pass on benefits of neem to the consumer.

In general, raw, unprocessed, unpasteurized wildflower honey is a good choice. At the Health Hutt we carry a variety of honeys including monoflower honeys mentioned above and local wildflower honeys such as Hasselman's from Fremont area and Lake Effect from Mears.

Honey is a highly nutritive and healing substance that has been used for a variety of ailments. Traditionally, honey has been used to treat wounds, diseases of the gut (including gastric ulcers), cough, sore throat, and earaches (2). It has also been traditionally used to remedy insect bites, burns, skin disorders, sores, boils, eye infections, and respiratory conditions. (2)

One cure-all honey folk cure is to mix honey and cinnamon. This combination is purported to promote overall good health and remedy fatigue, bad breath, indigestion, upset stomach, toothaches, bladder infection. It can even be used topically with water to was the face and treat acne! Another duo, honey and milk, is thought to be good before going to bed and help sore throats. (3)

All About Honey, Beeswax and Propolis

Beehives are truly incredible! Did you know that there are three primary materials that are used in building this amazing structure? Honey, beeswax and propolis. While each of these is unique in its own way, they all share one thing in common: they are produced by the honey bee.

By understanding how honey, beeswax and propolis are made, you can get a clear picture of just how fascinating honey bees truly are.

Beeswax

Beeswax is the primary material that makes up the hive. The hive is an intricate construction of hexagonal cells that house stores of honey and pollen as well as the brood. The cells are built so they touch each other – and this is done by design. Not only does this configuration allow the bees to pack in more storage units, the fact that they share walls means that the bees can build the cells more quickly and conserve energy. The hexagonal shape of a cell also maximizes space so that each cell can hold a the most honey or pollen possible.

Honey bees have small glands on their bellies that produce wax. The bees will ingest a small amount of honey and then convert the sugar into tiny pieces of wax. This wax substance will then be collected by the bee and placed in their mouth. Here, the wax mixes with saliva and becomes the amazing building material that it is.

Honey

Bees forage for nectar and pollen so that they can produce the delicious substance we call honey. A worker bee known as a forger will have the job of traveling from the hive to the flowers to collect nectar and pollen.

She uses a structure called a proboscis to access the nectar deep inside the flower. She stores the nectar until she finishes her foraging trip and returns to the hive. When she arrives at home, another worker bee will take the nectar that the forger has collected, mixing it with her own enzymes, and removing a little bit of the water content. This process will continue each time the nectar is passed, crafting it into a tick, rich substance that is very similar to the honey we know and love.

Once the honey is nearing the right consistency, it will be stored in a cell where it will continue to lose a little water until it reaches its perfect state. When the honey is ready, the bees will seal the cell with wax, preserving the honey for use later on.

Propolis

Unlike beeswax and honey, you may not hear a lot about propolis. Propolis is sort of like the Elmer’s Glue of the bee species. Bees use it for a number of different purposes, including insulating the hive from temperature extremes and sealing up holes to protect it from predators.

Forager bees visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen, and sometimes tree sap. The sap is carried back to the hive where it is combined with a bunch of different substances to make it the sticky but useful tool the bees need to thrive. Because of its use as a glue, the structure of a beehive is made almost entirely of beeswax and propolis. Propolis helps the hive maintain heat in the winter. As bees build the hive, they can use propolis to seal off certain areas or build extensions were needed.

Together, honey, beeswax and propolis are the building blocks of a beehive. Bees use their ingenuity to not only make these substances, but to use them in creative and intelligent ways.

To learn more about these materials, check out our other blog posts:

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Bee Propolis

What is Beeswax?

How Do Bees Make Honey?

And if you need help safely and humanely removing bees from your San Diego area home or business, contact the professionals at D-Tek Live Bee Removal today.

What Is the Difference between Royal Jelly and Propolis?

Purpose, level of production, and ingredients are some of the differences between royal jelly and propolis. While bees use royal jelly as a food source, propolis serves as a construction material. Bees only create substantial amounts of royal jelly when the hive requires a new queen. On the other hand, all hives generally contain propolis resin. The scarcity of royal jelly production naturally generates a higher cost than propolis.

Bees produce both royal jelly and propolis, but the production methods differ. When required to feed larvae, bees excrete royal jelly through oral glands, passing the substance to the baby bees in quantities suitable for each feeding. When the hive requires a new queen, bees encapsulate the larvae in a cell with an abundance of royal jelly. In this environment, larvae constantly consume the milky white fluid, growing larger than other bees and having the capability of egg laying. In the wild, hives need only regenerate a new queen every three or four years.

Propolis production requires bees collect resin and sap from plants and trees. The bees mix the sticky fluid with saliva and wax, building walls, filling in spaces or cementing together various parts of the beehive. If predatory animals or insects invade the hive, bees attack the intruder. After the enemy dies from envenomation, bees encapsulate the carcass with propolis, which protects the colony from disease.

While both substances maintain the health and safety of the bees, the quantities of royal jelly and propolis differ. Beekeepers, also known as apiarists, influence royal jelly production by installing small, plastic, thimble-shaped cups onto a hive frame. Keepers then graft larvae into each cup. The keeper removes the queen from this section of the hive, and the bees quickly go to work filling each cup with royal jelly and sealing the cells. After allowing sufficient time, apiarists retrieve the frame, remove the sealant and larvae, and then scoop out the royal jelly.

When keepers desire propolis production, hives typically have large open areas. Bees produce the protective sealant resin in large quantities, constructing walls between the wooden frames that eliminate open regions. Beekeepers then scrape the sticky substance from the hives, requiring propolis production to begin again.

The chemical and nutritional values of royal jelly and propolis are also different. Studies show that royal jelly contains 10% to 15% protein, simple sugars, and B vitamins, along with amino acids and other trace enzymes, minerals, and vitamins. The chemical constituents of royal jelly show promise in lowering cholesterol, reducing hypertension, and treating osteoporosis. Some research suggests that royal jelly might also be used to reduce premenstrual and menopause symptoms. Propolis, on the other hand, consists of acids and polyphenols. Consumers typically use propolis preparations both externally and internally as an antimicrobial agent.

Individuals purchase royal jelly in its raw state, either in capsules or combined with honey or other herbal products. In an encapsulated form, the recommended royal jelly dose is one or two capsules per day. Taking royal jelly can result in increased bleeding times if it is taken with the anticoagulant warfarin, and topical and systemic allergic reactions after taking royal jelly can also occur.

Eric Carter

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