CHAPTER 10.

Beehive Products and Value of Beekeeping

10.1. Honey
Honey composition and properties
Honey is a highly concentrated solution of two sugars, dextrose and laevulose, at
least 22 other more complex sugars. Many other substances also occur in honey but
the sugars the major components. The principal physical characteristics and
behavior of honey are due to its sugars, but the minor constituents, such as flavoring
materials, pigments, acids, and minerals are largely responsible for the differences
among individual honey types.

Importance of honey includes the following:

It is extremely suitable food for children, sick people and others
It can be used as a sweetener for food and drink.
It can be used to treat superficial wounds and throat complaints.
It is a pleasant-tasting food and an effective medicine.
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10.1.1.Composition of honey
the largest proportion of honey is sugars. This very concentrated solution of sugars
would results for the characteristic in physical properties, such as a high viscosity,
“stickiness”, high density, granulation and tendency to absorb moisture from the air,
since honey is hygroscopic in nature. In general honey is composed of water,
sugars, acids, proteins, amino acids, minerals and enzymes.

1. Water content
The natural moisture of honey in the comb is that remaining from the nectar after
ripening. The amount of moisture is a function of the factors involved in ripening,
including weather conditions and original moisture of the nectar. It is one of the
most important characteristics of honey influencing keeping quality, granulation,
and body. The water content of honey varies greatly ranging between 13 and 25
percent. If honey has more than 17 percent moisture and contains a sufficient
number of yeast spores, it will ferment.
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2. Sugars
The main constitute of honey is carbohydrate, with 95 to 99.9 percent of the solids
is sugars. Sugars are classified according to size, complexity of the molecules of
which they are made. Dextrose (glucose) and laevulose (fructose), the main sugars
in honey, are simple sugars, or monosaccharide’s, and are the building blocks for
the more complex honey sugars.

Dextrose and laevulose account for about 85 percent of the solids in honey but 22
other sugars more complex than the monosaccharide. Most of these sugars do not
occur in nectar, but are formed either as a result of enzymes added by the
honeybee during the ripening of honey or by chemical action in the concentrated
while kept in storage condition.
 

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3. Acids
The acids of honey account for less than 0.5 percent of the solids, but this level
contributes not only to the flavor, but is in part responsible for the excellent stability
of honey against microorganisms. Several acids have been found in honey, gluconic
acid being the major one. It arises from dextrose through the action of an enzyme
called glucose oxidase. Other acids in honey are formic, acetic, butyric, lactic,
oxalic, maleic, pyruvic, pyroglutamic, citric, malic, 2-or 3-phosphoglycenic acid.
 

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4. Proteins and Amino acids
The amount of nitrogen in honey is low, it may range to 0.1 percent. Recent work
has shown that only 40 to 65 percent of the total nitrogen in honey is in protein, and
some nitrogen resides in substances other than proteins, namely the amino acids.

Of the eight to eleven proteins found in various honeys, four are common to all,
originate in the bee, rather than the nectar. The amino acids are simple compounds
obtained when digestive processes break down proteins. Several of them are
essential to life and must be obtained in the diet. The quantity of free amino acids in
honey is small and of no nutritional significance. Research analysis of sample
through chromatography revealed that honeys contain 11 to 21 free amino acids.

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5. Minerals
When honey is dried and burned, a small residue of ash invariably remains, which is
the mineral content. It varies from 0.02 to slightly over 1 percent for a floral honey.
H honeydew honey is rich in minerals, so much so that its mineral content is said to
be a prime cause of its unsuitability for winter stores.

6. Enzymes
One of the characteristics that make honey different from other sweetening agents
is the presence of enzymes, these came from the bee, pollen, nectar, or yeasts or
microorganisms in the honey. Those most are added by the bee during the
conversion of nectar to honey. Enzymes are complex protein molecules which are
essential to life. Some of the most important honey enzymes are invertase, diastase,
and glucose oxidase. Invertase, also known as sucrase or saccharase, splits sucrose
into simple sugars, dextrose, and laevulose. The work of invertase is completed
when honey is ripened.
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Diastase (amylase) digests starch to simpler compounds, Diastase appears to be
present in varying amounts in nearly all honey and it can be measured and is used as
a measure of honey quality in several European countries. Glucose oxidase converts
dextrose to a related material, a gluconolactone, which in turn forms gluconic acid,
the principal acid in honey. As with other enzymes, the amount varies in different
honeys. In addition to gluconolactone, glucose oxidase forms hydrogen peroxide
during its action on dextrose, which has been shown to be the basis of the heat-
sensitive antibacterial activity of honey.

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10.1.2.Properties of honey
The following are some of the property of honey being considered as an advantage:-
 1. Antibacterial activity
honey is medicine a dressing for wounds and inflammations. Honey unsuitable
medium for bacteria for two reasons: it is fairly acid and high in sugar content, that
killing bacteria by high sugar content is called osmotic effect.

Honey has antibacterial property that inhibine effect on bacteria due to hydrogen
peroxide produced in diluted honey. H2O2 known for its antiseptic, as a byproduct of
gluconic acid by glucose oxidase. The H2O2 can inhibit the growth of bacteria in the
honey. The level of peroxides and its magnitude depends on many factors, such as
enzyme activity, oxygen availability, and amounts of destroyed material in honey.

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2. Food Value
Honey is a high-energy carbohydrate food. Sugars in honey are easily digestible “simple
sugars”, similar to fruits. Honey can be regarded as a good for infants and adults. Several of
the essential vitamins are present in honey, the mineral content of honey is variable, but
darker honeys have significant quantities of minerals.

3. Granulation
Dextrose, is a major sugar in honey that responsible for crystallize in the form of “solid”,
state. This sometimes occurs when the moisture level in honey dropping below a certain
level. The granulated state is natural for most of honey produced, processing is required to
keep it liquid. Careful application of heat to dissolve “seed”, crystals and avoidance of
subsequent “seeding” will usually keep a honey liquid for six months.
 

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4. Deterioration of Quality
Fermentation of honey is caused by the action of sugar-tolerant yeasts upon the sugars
dextrose and laevulose, resulting in the formation of ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. The
alcohol in the presence of oxygen then may be broken down into acetic acid and water. As a
result honey that has fermented may taste sour.

yeasts responsible for fermentation to occur in honey, that they germinate and grow at much
higher rate with moist condition, therefore, are called “osmophillic”. Thus, the water content
of a honey is one of the factors concerned in spoilage by fermentation with number of yeast
spores (yeast count) and temperature of storage.

Honey less than 17.1 % moisture not ferment for a year, regardless of the yeast count, while
17.1 to 18 % moisture with 1000 yeast per gram spores safe for a half a year, but when the
moisture is 18.1 to 19 %, with 100 yeast spores per gram can safe for 3 months storage.
Above 19 % moisture, honey can be expected to ferment even with only few spore per
gram of honey.
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So that, efforts to keep low as possible to be safe the shelf life. When honey
granulates, the resulting increased moisture content of the liquid part is favorable
for fermentation. Honey with high moisture content will not ferment below 50F or
above about 80F. Storing at temperatures over 80F to avoid fermentation is not
practical, as it will damage honey.

The primary objective of honey processing is to stabilize it. This means to keep it
free of fermentation and to keep the desired physical state, be it liquid or finely
granulated. This can be achieved through control application of heat.

We must use some properties of honey as indices of its value. Such properties
should relate to the quality or commercial value of honey, as granulation of liquid
honey, liquefaction or softening of granulated honey, and fermentation as functions
of storage conditions has been reported.
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A recommended temperature for pasteurization of honey is 145oF for 30 minutes, be
remembered that heating and immediate cooling are used, many hours will be
required for a batch of honey to cool from 145oF to a safe temperature.

The damage done to honey by heating and by storage is the same. For the lower
storage temperatures, simply a much longer time is required to obtain the same
result. It must be remembered that the effects of processing and storage are additive.
It is for this reason proper storage is important. People who store honey must select
conditions will minimize fermentation, undesirable granulation, and heat damage.
Fermentation is strongly retarded below 50oF and above 100oF. Granulation is
accelerated between 55oF and 60oF and initiated by fluctuation at 50oF to 55oF. The
best condition for storing unpasteurized honey seems to be below 50oF.

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How to differentiate natural honey from faked artificial honey

The four commonly used methods to check the purity of honey on a small scale by
which an organoleptic analytic providing about the safety and quality of honey:

The Thumb Test

The Water Test
The Flame Test
The vinegar mix Test

In the case of commercial level using a sampling and sample preparation, then
analysing by

Refractometer
Density determining methods
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10 .2. Pollen
Bees gather pollen by visiting plants flower, they collect every day, and it is part of
their food. Pollen is a male germplasm of plants. Pollens are natural food to the
honeybee colonies.

Worker bees collect pollen from specific plant at a time and carry it by their hind
legs. Bees gather an average of 100 to 200g of pollen per colony per day: 30 to 50
kg per year. You should, of course, only collect a part of this so that you do not
seriously inhibit the development of the colony.

Pollen can contain up to 35% protein. It can be eaten dry or added to other foods.
Pollen is sold to the perfume industry and nowadays also for consumption. Pollen
must be protected against moisture. It attracts water (hygroscopic) and deteriorates
quickly when attacked by fungi. Try to dry pollen in hot weather by spreading it in a
thin layer in the shade where a breeze is felt. Store pollen in airtight earthenware
pots or closed bottles. Well dried pollen should crack between your teeth like rice.
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Pollen has only recently been thought as a hive product for human consumption.
Previously, it was collected by beekeepers during periods of heavy pollen flows and
then fed to the colonies at the beginning of build-up periods to stimulate brood rearing.
The interest in pollen as food is usually found only in large urban centers where there is
a specialized market for natural foods.

Pollen has dietary value to those who eat it. It contains water and fat-soluble vitamins
that are of great value to bees and humans. Pollen contains water-soluble vitamins like:
Thiamine (vitamin B1), Riboflavin (vitamin B6), Nicotinic acid, Pantothenic acid,
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C). It also contains fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A
(Retinol), Vitamin E (Tocopherol).

It has two important counts:

Chief source of protein, fats and minerals in honeybee diets
As surplus hive products, which generate cash revenue 15
Chemically, pollen is rich in lipids; contains amino acids, carbohydrates (sugar and
starch), reduced sugar average 29% (fructose, glucose, sucrose and others), mineral
(Ca, Mg, p, Fe, Na, k, Al, Mn, s, and cu), vitamins, vegetable oil (5%), water (3-
4%), rich in nitrogen. Pollen has some non-measurable properties like human
growth hormone (HGH), which are very essential in its effect on life of insect and
humans.
 

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This pollen is consumed as a health food. Pollen is collected by forcing the
returning foragers to pass through a five-mesh (five holes per 2.5 cm) grid. The
pollen pellets are scraped from the pollen baskets on the workers hind legs and fall
into a collecting tray covered with a smaller mesh wire to prevent the bees from
retrieving the pollen. Pollen collection is not recommended for beginning or small-
scale beekeepers. The colony needs pollen to rear brood, thus only limited amounts
can be removed. Trapping pollen is more efficient in areas where there are intense
flows. In most areas of the tropics, pollen collecting is difficult since the flows are
weaker and the yields are low. Pollen also spoils quickly. The traps should be
emptied often (daily in humid weather) to prevent pollen from molding. Once the
pollen is collected, it must be quickly dried or frozen. Direct sun light and too much
heat reduce the nutritional value and quality of the pollen, thus special facilities are
needed for processing and storage.

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Collecting pollen
When the bees are collecting a lot of pollen you can use a pollen trap, placed in
front of the flight entrance, to collect the pollen pellets. After a few days, move the
trap to another hive so that the colonies are not deprived of too much of their
protein supply. Pollen traps equipped at the entrance of beehives are used to collect
fresh pollen loads (these traps cause only the pollen loads on the outside of worker
bees hind legs to fall through tiny holes). About 10 to 40 kg of pollen are collected a
year from a hive.
In this box you place a grid (two layers of 5 mm wire mesh spaced 8 mm apart, or a
perforated board) through which the bees must crawl. When passing the grid they
lose their pollen pellets which fall through a layer of wire mesh (3.6-4.2 mm) in the
bottom of the box, into a collecting tray.

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Figure 25: Pollen trap. (Source: Imkers Encyclopedie, B.van Aarst).
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10.3. Beeswax
Beeswax is a hive product whose value is not recognized at all in some areas, while
in others it is considered more valuable than honey. The wax of western hive bee
(Apis mellifera) differs from the beeswax produced by the Asian species of
honeybee (A.dorsata, A. florea, and A. cerana) is less desirable than that of the
western hive bee for international marketing purposes.

Wax production varies from 0.2 - 0.5 kg per hive/year when frames are used and
from 0.5 - 2 kg when the honey is pressed and all the combs are melted down.

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Pure beeswax is harder and has a higher melting point (640c) than most other waxes.
These properties make it more desirable for certain applications. Beeswax is used
industrially in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, polishes, and candles. Uses for beeswax
on a small-scale include:

Candle making
Lost-wax casting of metals
Wax printing and padding of cloth, padding is a fabric printing technique
which covering with wax
Polishes for wood and leather
Strengthening and waterproofing thread for sewing
Treatment of cracked hooves of domestic animals
Making of comb foundation or wax starter strips for bee hives

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All old combs and pieces of wax should be saved for rendering into wax blocks.
Old combs rendered separately from newer since the newer combs yield a higher
quality wax. Dark combs contain propolis and cocoons, which lower the quality of
the wax. Comb stored in pieces is highly susceptible to wax moth damage.

With a solar wax melter, small pieces of comb can be rendered easily as they are cut
from the hive and made into blocks. Comb to be rendered can be stored for short
periods in sealed plastic bags with moth preservative (para-dichloro-benzene) to
prevent wax moth damage. Check the stored comb periodically for evidence of wax
moth larvae. The PDB only prevents the adults from laying eggs; it does nothing to
developing larvae. Stronger fumigants can be used but these are impractical for
small-scale farmers.

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In Ethiopia, wax is one of the exporting commodities. There are two sources of
beeswax:
From traditional beekeeping: crude wax which has an inclusion of pollen, honey
and brood. Of the total honey produced traditionally, 10-12 % is crude wax.
Modern beekeeping: even though the distribution and intake rate is very low, wax
can be obtained from capping, brace combs, and old combs.
10.3.1. Rendering Wax
The process by which wax combs are converted into clean, block wax is commonly
known as rendering or wax extraction or wax processing. Methods of rendering wax
includes are the following:-

1. Solar wax extraction

2. Steam wax extraction
3. Sack method of wax extraction 23
Most methods of rendering wax use hot water to melt. They are based on the fact
that beeswax floats in water. Some precautions include:-
Never use iron, steel, zinc, or copper containers for beeswax, as they discolor
the wax. Use enameled or aluminum containers

Be careful with melted beeswax, since it is highly flammable. Do not allow to
boil vigorously, boiling at lowers keeps the quality of a wax to be more brittle.

Blocks of rendered beeswax can be stored in cool, dry places for long periods
without harm.

Never store beeswax near pesticides. Beeswax absorbs many chemicals and
they can kill bees if this wax is used to make comb foundation

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Method 1. Hot bath method:
In the absence of a wax-melter, the hot water bath process now in use by some
African beekeepers may be adopted. This is the quickest method of obtaining the
wax, but it can only be employed after the combs have been crushed and the honey
removed.

Equipment's:-
A cooking pot
Sackcloth or a sack
String (2-3 meters)
A stick or a discarded top bar.
A large spoon or ladle
A mould for the wax
 
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Procedure
Put water (amount depending on the quantity of bee combs) in to the cooking
pot and heat over a fire.
Wash crushed bee combs to remove dirt and honey and place in the sack.
Make a good package by tightening the string around the sack.
By now the water should be quite warm. Put the package into the pot and use
the stick to push it down to the bottom.
When it reaches a temperature of about 59oc, the wax begins to melt and a
waxy begins to form on top of the water.
Use the stick to press the package. More wax will float to the top of the water.

Use the ladle (spoon with a long handle and a deep bowl, used to pour) to skim off
or the melted wax and pour it into a mould. Continue this process until wax no
longer rises to the surface.  
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Method 2. The solar Wax-melt:
This is a simple devise and can be made by local craftsmen. The melter is made of
wood, lined with a galvanized metal plate and has a glass or clear plastic cover. The
base is airtight. The melter can be painted black to absorb more heat. On a sunny
day, the wax extractor is capable of generating a temperature of 61oc, enough to
melt down a bee comb so that both honey and beeswax flow into a container inside
the box.
 

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10.4. Bee brood

Bee brood is a potential hive product for local use. It can be used as animal feed or
as human food in areas where insects are accepted in the human diet. Brood is the
developing adults of the colony, so only drone brood should be used. Cut out the
areas of comb that contain the brood and remove the brood from the comb by
shaking or picking it out. After the brood is removed, the comb can be rendered for
the wax.

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10.5. Propolis
Propolis is made of resin and balsam, chemically consists of 50% wax, 25% fatty acids and
Polyphenols (25%). Pigments in propolis from various plants give it a variable color, which
may be reddish, brownish, or yellowish. Propolis is sticky and soft when warm, but hard and
brittle when cold. It has various pharmacological and antibiotic properties.

The market trend for propolis is increasing as it has some therapeutic and antibiotic
characteristics. For retail sale, the quality of propolis is evaluated with respect to the following
parameters:-

 Appearance, color, odor, flavor and consistency.

 Wax content must be less than 30%
 Oxidative compounds must be less than 22%
 Impurities must be less than 20%.  
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10.6. Bee Venom
A bee stores venom in a sac and deposit at stinging. A diet devoid of pollen impairs
venom production. The production is induced when bees are shocked electrically.
Venom used in treatment of rheumatic diseases. However, some humans are allergic
to the bee poison.

To produce venom
The colony used to produce bee venom should be strong and populated with adult
bees. Venom can be safely extracted in the laboratory using a venom extractor box.
The enclosure box is made from wood and measures 2 sqft. The sides are made of
glass and the bottom is covered with light nylon. Cross-flex copper wires are fitted
in a 2.6 feet square metal frame and the frame is placed in the box. A dimmer switch
is connected to the wire network for administering the current.
 

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3000 bees are taken from a strong colony and fed sugar. The bees are placed in the
venom collector box. A current of 6A is sent for 30 seconds. This is repeated after a
15-minute interval. Once stimulated the bees repeatedly sting the black muslin
cloth, placed over the glass plate, and release the venom, which is collected on the
glass plate. The bottom glass plate is removed and venom spots checked carefully.

Bee venom crystallizes as soon as it comes in contact with air. A fine blade or
scraper is used to collect the venom from the plate. It is stored in the refrigerator for
further use. One gram of bee venom can be extracted from 70,000 bees and sold for
$100-120. Bee venom contains ache-causing histamine, hemolysis-causing
phospholipase, apamine (a neurotoxic substance), etc. These substances can be used
to detect allergy. There is a unique remedy known as bee apicupuncture, a cure
method for neuralgic diseases using bee stings for the patients.  

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10.7. Royal jelly
Royal jelly is the secretion from the two types of glands that young worker bees
(nurse bees) have at their head (hypopharyngeal glands and mandibular glands).
Given an ample supply of royal jelly, the larvae of queen bees grow to large-sized in
a shorter period of time. They also livelong and keep a vigorous egg laying capacity
since they continue to eat royal jelly all their lives. If you make queen cell cups
from plastics and transplant young larvae of worker bees in the colony in the cups,
you can artificially produce royal jelly. The quality of royal jelly is mainly based on
the content of protein and fatty acid in royal jelly.
 

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Royal jelly is produced by using a queen-less colony of bees. A strong colony of
young bees is made up by shaking bees from the brood comb of several colonies.
Such bees are mostly nurse bees, which have fully developed head glands and thus
are good producers of royal jelly.

The colony is given plenty of pollen and honey stores, but is it is kept both brood-
less and queen-less. After one day, frames with bars of artificial cell cup (queen
cups) containing one day-old larvae are given to the colony. Because of the queen-
less condition of the colony, the young bees are stimulated to rear queens. To
harvest the royal jelly, the larvae are removed from the cells after a few days, and
the royal jelly scooped out.  

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10.8. Bees
In areas where bee hiving or beekeeping is practiced, the most practical way to
obtain bees is to an established colony. If the colony is in a fixed-comb hive it can
be transferred into a top-bar or frame hive. Where “high-tech” beekeeping is carried
out, bees can be bought in packages or in nuclei box. A package is a screen-ware
box, which contains workers and a caged queen. The bees are sold by weight. A
nuclei is a small colony. It contains adult bees as well as frames containing comb
with brood and stores.

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10.9. Pollination
The greatest value of beekeeping lies in the fact that bees pollinate agricultural and
horticultural plants. When a bee has found the flowers of a certain kind of plant she
will encourage her hive mates to use this source. The bees will visit these flowers as
long as food (pollen and nectar) is available. This flower constancy makes bees
exceptionally valuable to plants which need to be cross-pollinated. If there are
enough bee colonies in the area at flowering time the plants will give higher yields
and the quality of the fruits will also be improved. However, in many tropical
regions farmers are still unaware of the beneficial effect of bees to their crops.

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