We lived for honey. We swallowed a spoonful in the morning to wake us up and one at night to put us to sleep. We took it with every meal to calm the mind, give us stamina, and prevent fatal disease. We swabbed ourselves in it to disinfect cuts or heal chapped lips. It went in our baths, our skin cream, our raspberry tea and biscuits. Nothing was safe from honey…honey was the ambrosia of the gods and the shampoo of the goddesses. ~ The Secret Life of Bees
I don’t have a long history with honey, but I know some people who do. Before we go there, though, I’ll share just a little history.
A brief sweet history
Multiple sources exist on beekeeping (for harvesting honey), but they don’t necessarily agree on its origins. However, most of them acknowledge that this practice has existed thousands of years, so I’m picking one site to tap, Honey Association. Those folks should know, and they say that beekeeping is on record as far back as records go: Cave paintings in Spain from 7000 BC and hieroglyphics in Egypt from 2400 BC. Multiple cultures used honey not only for food, but also food for the gods (as offerings). Additionally, the Greeks considered it a healing medicine and the Romans used it extensively in cooking.
Needless to say, honey’s popularity and its wide range of uses are not new. Even to me. However, I didn’t know that honey’s use slowed down in the 11th and 12th centuries when the Crusaders traveled to the Mediterranean. That’s where they encountered a previously unknown type of farming. And a different kind of sweetness. Sugar! But back to honey.
Keeping bees these days
As with everything else I’ve learned about honey bees, “keeping” them involves a multitude of decisions. Hundreds of years ago people could keep bees if they could afford the structure (sometimes only a hollowed-out gum tree) and the time. That time has passed. I’m not saying it was easy then, but it had to be simpler. The level of governmental oversight has grown–if, indeed, there was any then–and the ramifications cannot be ignored. If you’re thinking of taking on this obligation/hobby, you’ll want to refer to Beekeeping for Dummies, by Howland Blackiston or a similar publication.
In addition to covering rules and regulations, you’ll be able to read up on:
- Basic equipment,
- Location,
- Types of bees,
- Honey flavors,
- Time of year to start,
- Scheduling, and
- Troubleshooting.
Those are just for starters, but my point is that beekeeping is a complex endeavor. Be an educated buyer before you take on a swarm.
Info to enhance your appreciation
I am fortunate to know many highly talented individuals and one of them gave me a great gift of time this week. My friend, Walt, is best known for snake wrangling, but he’s also a beekeeper. He spent part of an afternoon with me and another friend, Mark, to show us his hive and talk a bit about hives and honey. Part of what we learned is in the following section. Any information not relayed by Walt is so noted. Sadly, I didn’t retain it all, but you can follow the links to fill in the blanks.
Among the stuff I didn't know
- Bees usually swarm once a year, in the spring. This action is an instinctive response to a reduction in space caused by the growing colony (we didn’t cover that bit in this post) and the volume of honey.
- When the beekeeper removes honey, it creates more space. The beekeeper shares with the bees, never taking it all. The bees need it, too, especially in the winter.
- Queen bees can lay up to 1,000 eggs daily.
- Hives have 80,000 bees, on average.
- Worker bees generate only 1/12 teaspoon of honey in their lifetimes.
- Each hive has a hierarchy, with the young bees starting at the ground floor: Queen’s attendant or cleanup. They’re three weeks old before they begin foraging.
- 500 bees work for three weeks to generate one pound of honey.
- Each hive generates 60-80 pounds of honey annually.
- When a hive is disturbed, bees can become aggressive and they emit a pheromone that seems to alert the entire hive. Beekeepers use smoke to cover the odor so the hive will calm down.
- According to AAAS, honey bees can carry up to 30% of their body weight. That’s more on a % basis than modern aircraft.
- Even bees have to deal with miscreants. Robber bees invade other hives to steal their honey. They take it back to “their” hives to increase their stores. They transport the honey in their honey stomachs. Who knew? Read more about this and honey production here.
I mentioned honey bees in a post last September, and not in a positive way: Honey bees are invasive and aren’t always good for the environment. When I made that one-off comment, I didn’t realize just how very complicated that species is, not to mention its contributions. This longer-than-average post also just scratches the surface, and I’ll return to them another time. Or two.
A LITTLE FAMILY HISTORY
I mentioned early on that I am fairly new to honey use. However, I have cousins whose grandparents on the other side of the family tree always raised bees and swore by the medicinal properties of this sweet, golden liquid. Well, they didn’t swear, literally, but you know what I mean. It was on the table every time I visited their house. To learn more, I asked my Memphis cousin about the honeycombs that were in the honey. Had I remembered that correctly? Yes, I did. She said they chewed on those to extract the sweetness, and that the texture was like those little wax Coca-Cola bottles stores used to sell. You know, at the checkout for the convenience of impulse buyers.
When I talked to her brother he agreed, “There was always a bowl of honey with the honeycomb on the kitchen table. It was good for treating arthritis and rheumatism. Papa lived to be 95 and didn’t have any arthritis issues.” He also mentioned a friend in Maryland who raised bees and used to treat people with both diseases by taking a honeybee and stinging people to help with their symptoms.
And a spoonful to finish
Beekeeping for Dummies concurs with the theory that honey cures what ails you, especially when it’s an allergy. It’s the “hair of the dog” line of thought. You could just gather pollen and “sprinkle it on your cereal” every day, but why go to the trouble? Honey contains pollen, and you don’t have to leave your kitchen to access it.* Keep in mind that this works when the honey is harvested within 50 miles of your residence. *In fairness, you can buy pollen, too, but it probably won’t do as much for your hot tea as honey does.
Even the Mayo Clinic is a fan. While honey is mostly sugar, it also contains, “a mix of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, iron, zinc, and antioxidants.” We have already established that it’s used as an anti-inflammatory and Mayo agrees. There’s more, but that would be overkill. You can read it all by clicking the link. Back to me.
I probably hadn’t consumed more than a teaspoon of raw honey (over my lifetime) before December of last year, but a series of respiratory issues prompted me to give it a shot. I am now on my fourth jar, and I am not an easy sell. I have to admit I was wrong. This experience has convinced me that I should be more open to trying new things. Well, at least concerning food choices. I think I might have turned the page on that one. Time will tell the tale on that one, but I know I will have other preconceived notions to confront.
You?
The first swarm I had removed had found a hole in a stone column on my front deck. Bee keeping volunteers did that, no harm done. Not so lucky on the next swarm. The hole was high up on the house, in the stone wall. They managed to make the hole large enough to create water damage during a rain on an inside ceiling. Further, half a dozen large limestones had to be removed for the bee keeper to coach the bees into a container for removal. Removal of stones, bees and repair of the house damage was $2000….all for a little over 2 lbs. of honey, so $1000/lb. The honey was the best I have ever had and it did seem to lessen my cedar allergies this year. After all, it was definitely local honey!
Doesn’t get much more local than that. So, did you set up a roadside stand?
“Bees are essential for the health of people and the planet.” -https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/why-are-bees-important-to-humans
Your blog and the above quote from Medical News Today say it all to me! I love bees, but have learned to look and don’t touch. 🙂
Exactly. When I was watching Walt, I was just a few feet from the hive, but inside the truck. It was like watching a movie. 😉
Great ruminations Gayle,
Remind me to tell you some bee stories: Will Walker and his bees, my dad’s bees, my beeper friends Betsy and Aaron. Wild bees I’ve found. Etc.
I’ll be looking forward to it! See you on Hyatt.