Superfoods From the Hive

I am fascinated with the honey bee. The more I work with these incredible creatures and learn about their world the more amazed and enamored I become. There are so many parallels between our universe and theirs. One of those is processing food. Do you know that bees ferment and dry food for storage?

A drawn comb of capped honey and bee bread

Honey bees process flower nectar into honey. The worker bee gathers nectar from the flower source by sucking the liquid through its proboscis into it's honey stomach where it is partially broken down by enzymes into two by-products, gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. When the worker bee gets back to the hive it transfers the contents of it's honey stomach by regurgitation to a hive worker bee who regurgitates it into a cell. It is an enzymatically-activated, partially fermented food. The nectar is 80% water. If left in that state it would ferment into alcohol so other worker bees fan the face of the honey comb to aid in dehydrating the nectar to 14% - 18% water. At this level the bees seal in the honey with a capping of wax. (I'm wondering if we got the idea of sealing canned jam with wax by observing honey bees?).  By processing the nectar in this way honey provides a much higher energy source per pound than nectar alone and it becomes storable.  Honey will never spoil because of it's high pH level. Bacteria cannot survive within it. Honey has been discovered in tombs of the Pharaohs perfectly preserved and is recorded being used medicinally on Sumerian clay tablets.

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic depicting honey bee farming

Honey bees process pollen into bee bread. A lacto-fermented, enzymatically-activated food which is the honey bee's staple protein source. The worker bee forages flowers collecting pollen, mixes it with a little bee saliva to hold it together and packs it into a hair sack on each back leg. She then flies it back to the hive and transfers it to a hive worker that mixes it with 30% honey and packs it into a cell. The fermentation process that takes place breaks down the pollen walls and cellulose layer which are hitherto indigestible to bees (and humans). The fermentation allows the bees to digest the pollen. Bee bread is high in vitamins, amino acids, vitamin K, antioxidants, zinc, magnesium and silica. Bee bread is used by humans as a superfood. It is important to recognize that one teaspoon of pollen takes one bee working eight hours a day for one month to gather. Each bee pollen pellet from the hair sack contains over two million flower pollen grains making one teaspoon containing over 2.5 billion grains of flower pollen! The bee bread will store for about a year.

Each layer is a pellet gathered by one bee and brought back to the hive in it's hair sacks

Honey bees process tree resins into propolis. The worker bee collects resins from tree bark and sticky buds, mixes it with salivary secretions and beeswax. It is then used to seal and sterilize the hive against infections. Once processed this mixture is called propolis or bee glue. Containing 55% resinous compounds, 30% beeswax, 10% aromatic essential oils and 5% pollen, propolis neutralized bacteria, fungi or viruses that may come into the hive. It is one of the most potent antibiotics found in nature and bacteria cannot build a tolerance to it. When analyzed by scientists, propolis was found to be rich in amino acids and trace elements, high in vitamins and contains at least 38 bioflavonoids which gives it a high antioxidant value. It is used to treat injuries and burns. It has been made into a gum and mouthwash for dental health. Propolis can only be dissolved in high proof alcohol.

When warm propolis is pliable, when cold it hardens and becomes brittle.

Amazing, right? Such useful products from an industrious insect that you can access from your own backyard or local farmer's market. My hope is that you've been "stung" with curiosity and you'll bee propelled to learn more about the honey bee.

Happy Learning!

Lydia