Bee & Honey Questions Answered

Here's a collection of questions related to honey bee and honey that visitors of Benefits of Honey have asked via the Just Ask Page. Check out if these answer your most pressing question.

Question: Do bees poop in the honey they make? I suppose their droppings don't smell since all they eat is honey and pollen?

Reply: No. I learned from beekeepers that they defecate outside the nest (if they are mature enough to fly), or they do it well away from the combs on a surface that is suitable. Sometimes, they even get sick with dysentary in the winter time, from trying to hold it until there is a day suitable for a cleansing flight.

No, you are wrong, bees' droppings do smell.

Question: What do honey bees use to make the bee hive?

Reply: The internal structure of a bee hive is made of wax, a liquid secreted from the underside of the worker bees' abdomens. And the bees use their legs to shape this wax into the hexagonal cells of honeycomb. Commercially, beekeepers provide modern frames for bees to build their beehives. In the more natural habitat (now very rare), bees make the external covering out of straws, plant parts, and mud:
How do bees make honey?

Question: Is it true that the government is using bees to sniff out bombs?

Reply: Yes, it's true. Honeybees have an amazing sense of smell. You can get the details here:
Honeybees are Ultimate Bomb Detectors!

Question: Is eating the actual honey comb inside a jar of honey good for you? I bought a jar of fresh honey with the comb inside with the honey. The gentleman that sold it to me said that the by eating a little piece of the comb every day has more benefits. Is this true?

Reply: The biggest advantage of eating honey with the comb is -- you can be 100% sure you are eating unprocessed, raw honey that will give you the most health benefits because of all the live enzymes. The wax is not that great-tasting but some people like to chew it like a gum and eat it as a roughage to improve bowel system. Read:
My first experience with honeycomb
Raw Honey

Question: In the collection of honey from the bee hives, is the health of the colony compromised? In other words, by taking their food source don't the bees die?

Reply: Professional beekeepers would not compromise the health of their bees. They are businessmen too. They depend on these creatures to give them honey on a continuous basis. Thus they have to be very careful not to hurt them and will always leave enough honey for their food. They make conscious effort to watch them all the time to ensure they’re okay. Good beekeepers set out to keep a friendly long term relationship with their bees so that they have enough honey to sell as a result. Their job is to see that they are content.

Question: What are the by-products in honey production?

Reply: Some by-products in honey production include propolis, beewax, bee pollen, bee bread, and royal jelly. You may be interested to read this article Common Terms in the Honey Bees World

Do you know anything about colony collapse disease? I am concerned!

Reply: In 2008 April, I wrote a small article on the colony collapse disease and inform our readers via the BuzZStop newsletter: Did Albert Einstein Ever Link Doom of Human Race to Bees?

Personally, I still find this disease quite mysterious, as it's peculiar to only certain countries. Regions like Africa or Asia are still reporting an abundant and healthy production of honey. Even more interestingly, recently, there is a report on the global rise in the number of bees: Honey & Health E-News . Good news!

Question: What is the benefit of eating queen bee's honey?

Reply: The name for queen bee's honey is "Royal Jelly". It's a very special food made just for the queen bee. (Note: Queen Bee's honey doesn't mean honey produced by the queen bee. The queen bee's job is not to produce honey.)

You can read about the benefits of royal jelly in: Royal Jelly

And some facts on bees, including the queen bee in: Honey Bee

End of "Bee & Honey Questions Answered". Back to "Amazing Honey Bee Facts".