Derivative products
- Royal jelly : it is a white creamy natural substance, jelly structure, strong smell and acid taste. Its color can change to yellow and then grey, depending on its age and contact with air. It is supposed to feed only the queens and larvae queens. It is produced by a special gland of the worker bees. It is a source of several rare and very useful substances that make it a superior food. Used to be the main ingredient of ambrosia the secret food that gave immortality to the Olympic goods. It helps many health sectors from enhancing immune system up to skin care.
- Wax : It is produced by very young bees and it is mixed by the workers with other liquids that they produce to form its final structure. It is used for the construction of honeycombs, when honey is produced it is covered by wax. It is a very useful product and there are still many applications for natural wax. Moreover it is very interesting to explore the construction techniques of the builder bees that are extremely accurate and elaborated.
- Pollen : it’s the food of the bees, a kind of dust coming from the flowers’ stamens and lack of it can stop the egg bearing process of the queen. The annual consumption for a honeycomb can be up to 30 kg. It is also very useful to human as it contain big amount of lefkomes, a spoon of pollen is equal to our daily needs in proteins, vitamins and minerals. Pollen contains up to 20% proteins. It is a strong anti anemic substance as it contains organic ferrous.
- Propolis : it is a resin from several trees and plants mixed together with pollen and wax. It is used to seal the doors and external openings of their honeycombs. It is also used as a disinfectant as it prevents microbial growth. It is used as an antibacterial substance since the ancient years as it is stated by Aristotle, it also stimulates the immune system. It contains wax that has a healing effect on wounds and it also helps our digestive system.
- Venom Melittin : It is their only weapon against their enemies. A complex mixture of chemical substances. The basic ingredient is a peptide called melittin, which formulates histamin as it enters our body. This substance hemolyzes the red hemispheres causing pain and swelling. It is an essential ingredient for the cure of several types of rheumatism arthritis and poliathritis, sciatic neuralgia, fibromyalgia, bronchial neuralgia and it is used as a vaccine for persons sensitive to bees’ bites.