Bee Products Beyond Honey

Beeswax

Worker bees produce beeswax from glands on their abdomen. They use it to build the hexagonal comb that stores honey, pollen, and brood. Beeswax is prized for candles (it burns cleanly with a pleasant, subtle honey scent), cosmetics, food wraps, woodworking polish, and leather conditioner. It takes roughly 6-7 pounds of honey for bees to produce a single pound of wax.

Propolis

Propolis is a sticky, resinous substance bees collect from tree buds and sap. They use it to seal cracks in the hive, smooth surfaces, and sterilize the interior. Propolis has antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties and has been used in folk medicine for centuries. It's the reason the inside of a beehive is one of the most sterile environments in nature.

Bee Pollen

Forager bees pack pollen into pellets on their hind legs and bring it back to the hive as the colony's primary protein source. Bee pollen can be collected using pollen traps at the hive entrance. It's sold as a nutritional supplement, though its health claims vary in scientific support. It contains protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is a protein-rich secretion produced by nurse bees. All larvae are fed royal jelly for the first three days of life, but only queen larvae continue to receive it exclusively. This diet triggers the developmental pathway that transforms an ordinary larva into a queen bee. Royal jelly is harvested commercially (primarily in Asia) but requires specialized equipment and significant labor.

Comb Honey

Comb honey is raw honey still sealed in its original beeswax comb. It's the least processed form of honey you can get -- bees build the comb, fill it with nectar, cure it to the right moisture content, and cap it with wax. Eating comb honey is a unique experience: you chew the wax (which is edible) along with the honey. It's excellent on toast, cheese boards, or straight from the comb.

At Ericksen Apiaries, we harvest small amounts of comb honey when conditions are favorable.