Importance of Bees

No matter what you call it Meile, Shahad, Miel Honig, Med, Mel, or simply Honey, rest assured this sweet gold liquid is treasured all over the world. Going as far as 2,500 years back, honey has been used in traditional remedies, ranking as the number one formula to build a strong immune system. This magical liquid syrup provides antioxidants and many anti-bacterial properties, and can improve the functioning of the digestive system. Honey is known to be responsible for keeping a person strong while fighting disease. BBC recently published an article about doctors at Christie Hospital using honey to help cancer patients recover after surgery.  Clearly, this shows that modern medicine is looking back to our ancestors for wisdom and utilizing natural products created by honeybees to increase the livelihood of patients.

Unfortunately honeybees are on the endangered list because diseases have wiped them out. We need them desperately. Honeybees are the biggest contributors to pollination of planet Earth. Without bees, trees and plants can’t reproduce. This means no fruits, nuts, and flowers. Bees are responsible for over 80% of plant life around us. So before you swat that bee, think about this article. Please remember do not panic and the honeybee will fly away, because it does not wish to sting you.  All that the honeybees want is to collect nectar for the colony and to bring it back to the hive to make honey.

So how is honey made you might ask…

If you have ever heard someone say “busy as a bee” there is a good reason for it. This phylum of Arthropoda are very dedicated to their assigned job, they don’t waste time, and surely have perfected their order system, be it making wax, honey, or feeding the larva with “royal jelly” to produce new healthy bees.

A worker honeybee will collect nectar from flowers such as dandelions, clovers, and fruit tree blossoms to make honey. Bees use their long tubular tongues to suck out the nectar and accumulate it in their “honey stomachs”. This stomach is separate from the digestive stomach, allowing the honeybee to hold almost her body weight in nectar. Once the honeybee is full, she heads back to the hive. Most bees will cover and help pollinate 150-1500 flowers through the “working day”. This is the exact reason why bees are so precious to our environment. Without pollinating bees we would not have trees, and flowers that would be able to produce crops that we rely on.

Upon the return back to the hive, special worker bees are assigned to transfer the nectar from the field bee into the honey comb by sucking out the nectar from the honey bees stomach through its mouth. These “house bees” begin to “chew” the regurgitated nectar for over a half an hour. During this process, enzymes are breaking down the complex sugars in the nectar into simple sugars. This is done so that it is easier for the bees to digest, as well as prevention of being slammed by bacteria while it is stored within the hive. Honey is known for as the easiest food to digest.

After regurgitating the honey, a worker bee must spread the nectar in the honeycomb. When water evaporates, the syrup becomes a thicker saccharine liquid known as Honey. Another important group of “working bees” is responsible for cooling and drying the nectar. They fan their wings to make the liquid very gloppy. This is a hard days worth of work, but it’s not over yet. Honey bees ultimately feed on the honey, so to protect and store it, they spread this liquid in the honeycombs and seal off the honeycomb with a “plug wax” until it’s ready for them to eat. A colony of honeybees is known to consume 150 pounds of honey a year. This is the process though which the honey is made in nature.

Incorporating Honey into Daily Intake...

Honey with yogurt and granola is a great way to start your day, simply because honey is a great source of carbohydrate that is known for its “boosting” effect as a natural fruit sugar. Containing vitamins B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3 and minerals, such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulfur, iron and phosphate you can’t go wrong with this natural antiseptic. Another way to utilize honey as many beauticians have done, by producing creams, moisturizers and facial masks that leave the skin very soft and relaxed. This is due to the fact that honey holds water-retaining properties, and will leave your skin very well hydrated. It also helps to fight against the damage caused by sun's UV rays and it’s anti-microbial abilities. Honey is also known to treat minor irritations and sun burns.