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From propolis tincture to bee magic salve 

You might not have heard about it before, and it really doesn’t look much, but propolis, or bee-glue, is really amazing stuff! Bees collect it from sticky tree buds and sap and use it to coat the inside of the hive and fill any gaps in their home. As a beekeeper I love it as it helps to keep my bees healthy. However, on a hot day it turns into a toffee-like substance which gets all over my gloves and bee suit!

Propolis has antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that make it ideal for including in natural skincare. It is also packed full of antioxidants and nutrients which can help keep your skin healthy.

Propolis is quite a difficult product to use and it has taken me a lot of experimenting! My formula is to first pop the propolis in a coffee grinder (exclusively used for this!). I then make a tincture by dissolving the propolis in pure alcohol. Then I create a propolis oil, letting all the alcohol evaporate. The oil is then easy to add to our skincare products.

There are now a wide variety of propolis products available including cough mixtures, mouthwashes, toothpaste and skincare. If you are intrigued and want to find out more there is some serious research into propolis and its benefits by The International Propolis Research Group.

At Let It Bee we’re excited to now add a new propolis product to our range. Called Bee Magic Salve it’s made with propolis and beeswax from our hives together with the herbs comfrey and plaintain, both renowned for their wound skin antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-itch properties.

Our Bee Magic Salve is perfect for chapped skin, cuts and abrasions, cold sores and stings. It is £5.75 for a tin and available in our on-line shop here.

And yes, you’ve guessed it, I developed this salve for when I get stung by my bees. Which fortunately isn’t too often! 

 

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From propolis tincture to bee magic salve 

You might not have heard about it before, and it really doesn’t look much, but propolis, or bee-glue, is really amazing stuff! Bees collect it from sticky tree buds and sap and use it to coat the inside of the hive and fill any gaps in their home. As a beekeeper I love it as it helps to keep my bees healthy. However, on a hot day it turns into a toffee-like substance which gets all over my gloves and bee suit!

Propolis has antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that make it ideal for including in natural skincare. It is also packed full of antioxidants and nutrients which can help keep your skin healthy.

Propolis is quite a difficult product to use and it has taken me a lot of experimenting! My formula is to first pop the propolis in a coffee grinder (exclusively used for this!). I then make a tincture by dissolving the propolis in pure alcohol. Then I create a propolis oil, letting all the alcohol evaporate. The oil is then easy to add to our skincare products.

There are now a wide variety of propolis products available including cough mixtures, mouthwashes, toothpaste and skincare. If you are intrigued and want to find out more there is some serious research into propolis and its benefits by The International Propolis Research Group.

At Let It Bee we’re excited to now add a new propolis product to our range. Called Bee Magic Salve it’s made with propolis and beeswax from our hives together with the herbs comfrey and plaintain, both renowned for their wound skin antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-itch properties.

Our Bee Magic Salve is perfect for chapped skin, cuts and abrasions, cold sores and stings. It is £5.75 for a tin and available in our on-line shop here.

And yes, you’ve guessed it, I developed this salve for when I get stung by my bees. Which fortunately isn’t too often! 

 

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Why do bees swarm?

If you see a big, swirling cloud heading out across the rooftops and trees, it could be a swarm of honeybees. They have left the safety of their hive and are flying off to find a new home – a hole in a tree, a chimney or an empty hive. It's an awesome sight! 

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Swarming bees are full of honey - carrying supplies for their new home - so they usually don't sting. But it's best to stand well back just in case!

Swarming is an important, natural process. It happens when a colony of honeybees splits and the queen takes a large number of worker bees with her in search of a new home. It's the way they reproduce. As soon as the old queen reaches the new nest site her entourage builds wax honeycomb so then she can lay her eggs and there’s space for pollen and honey stores.

Meanwhile in the original hive site new queens are hatching. Another one or two queens might leave the colony to set up a new home but one will stay to rule over the original hive. In this way the colony becomes two, three or more colonies.

Honey bees mostly swarm early in the season from late April to June. So this is a busy time for beekeepers!

Swarming early in the season gives the bees enough time to set up their new home and gather plenty of stores to see them through the winter. Beekeepers put out bait hives to try to lure a passing swarm. We also ‘artificially’ swarm our colonies which means separating the brood from the queen and flying bees. This splits the colonies and the urge to swarm goes away - usually! 

So if you are lucky enough to see a swarm of bees, marvel at this force of nature and then find your local swarm collector here: https://www.bbka.org.uk/swarm#swarmmap 

 

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How do you move a honeybee colony?

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