Honey

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bees, and derived from the nectar of flowers.

In order to produce one pound of honey, the bees must bring in about 75,000 loads of nectar into the hive. This amount of flying is equal to roughly four to six times around the circumference of the earth. To process the gathered nectar into honey, the receiving bee will transfer it to a honeycomb cell. Since the water content is high, about ¾ of it must be removed. This is accomplished when the bees distribute themselves throughout the hive and start beating their wings. This fanning not only removes excess moisture, but keeps the hive at a constant temperature of 94°F. The lifetime of a worker bee is about six weeks. During that time, she will have made only ½ tsp. of honey.

Honey Varieties and Forms: The various forms of honey include liquid, comb, cut-comb, solid (granulated or crystallized), and chunk.

Honey Storage: Honey has an indefinite shelf-life due to its high concentration of sugar. Keep it in a cool location away from direct sunlight in a tightly covered container. Honey may be frozen, although there's really no need.

Miscellaneous Honey Information: Honey is not recommended for babies under one year of age. Although honey is a natural, healthy food that normally cannot support bacterial life, it's important to note that it can carry C. botulinum spores which may be harmful to the undeveloped immune systems of infants.

Honey for Kids of Africa

ROYAL JELLY

ROYAL JELLY is secreted from the hypopharyngeal glands located on either side of the head of a bee. Nurse bees, between the ages of five and fifteen days, are the only ones able to secret this substance used to feed larvae and the queen.

Royal jelly is a thick, creamy substance synthesized in the body of the bee during the digestion of bee pollen. Because it is eventually secreted from glands of the bee, royal jelly contains high levels of hormones and proteins. It also contains lipids, minerals, vitamins (A, C, E, and B), twenty amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, sterols, phosphorus, acetylcholine, nucleic acids (RNA/DNA), gelatin, gamma globulin, decanoic acid (an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal component), and other yet unidentified components.

It is the royal jelly that make the queen bee. She is made, not born. The eggs laid are all the same. The only difference is that one is singled out to be a queen and is exclusively fed the royal jelly all of its life. The other larvae only receive the substance for the first three days of their existence.

PROPOLIS

Propolis is a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive.