HONEY BEE 101 + HOLISTIC REMEDIES FROM HUMANITY’S BEST FRIENDS

Honey bees are humanity’s best friends among insects someone once said. They are considered to be one of the most important species on Earth, without them our diet would only consist of food that was wind pollinated like wheat, rice, corn, rye, barley and oats. Granted we would still have beer, we wouldn’t have the variety of delicious fruits, vegetables, and nuts available. Even coffee which is a wind-pollinated pollinated plant greatly depend on cross pollination to grow a strong yield. In short, we need bees.

Bees make us think about how we grow our food, they are a keystone species, which means they help define an entire ecosystem, and without them the ecosystem would be forced to radically change for the worse. When you look at a beehive box in an agricultural field or farm, what you are actually perceiving as thousands of flying pollinators is in reality one super organism, it is one being. Just like humans are comprised of trillions of individual cells, a honey bee colony is a being composed of thousands of individual honey bees. Bees allow for plants to cross-pollinate to help maintain the genetic diversity of the plants and trees in our planet. Biodiversity is an important measurement of the overall health of the ecosystem. An unhealthy ecosystem will have fewer species and poor genetic diversity.

Now take into consideration the eco-system without bees, some plants would not be pollinated and this means less seed production. As seed numbers decrease, so do the number of trees and plants. This has a major effect on the amount of food that so many species in nature depend on like birds, insects, lizards, frogs, squirrels, etc. This would cause a massive decline of various species in the entire web of life.

HOW TO HELP THE BEES

Don’t use pesticides!
Plant pollinator friendly flowers.
Leave a bowl of water with some pebbles in the middle for thirsty bees to drink and cool their hive.
Call a local beekeeper instead of an exterminator if you need them relocated from your property.
Build homes for native bees.
Support local beekeepers.
Provide trees for bees.

That being said, honey bees also have the ability to heal with the products made from inside the hive, such as honey, beeswax, royal jelly, propolis and bee venom. Bees manipulate the microbial environment both within the hive and outside the hive. These products have also been used to aid human beings in the ancient practice of apitherapy. Products from the hive have been used by ancient and modern humans in traditional medicine and in clinical settings. Apitherapy is a type of therapy that helps to improve human health that helps with bacterial, viral and fungal infections, to healing wounds and even treating acne. Honey bees have many uses for these products but these products also add great medical value to human health, which many scientific studies have begun to discover.

HONEY

Honey can be applied on cuts to help with rapid healing.
Honey can be applied on the face to unclog pores, treat acne, tighten and moisturize your skin.
Raw honey is medicine, its full of enzymes, antioxidants and acts as a natural wellness booster for relieving seasonal allergies, sore throat and cold symptoms

POLLEN

Bee pollen can be taken to rejuvenate and refresh the body, boosting energy and your body’s ability to heal.

BEE BREAD

Bee bread is a rare treat and harder to acquire, ask your local beekeeper, but it’s used to treat insomnia, stress, high cholesterol and fatigue.

ROYAL JELLY

Royal Jelly which is only what the Queen bee feeds on has anti-aging properties, promoting tissue growth and muscle regeneration. It is also great for improving brain function and your overall well-being.

BEE VENOM

Bee Venom or a sting from a honey is also very beneficial with its anti-inflammatory properties. It’s been used for centuries to treat arthritis and chronic pain. Some cosmetic companies add it to skin creams and serums as a natural alternative to Botox.

BEES WAX

Bee Wax can be used to make candles, soaps, lip balms, creams and many more. Like honey, beeswax has antibiotic properties, and it can clean, moisturize and soften skin.

Keystone species like the honey bee have a large impact not only on our environment, they also help improve human health. And when honey bees are protected and allow to thrive and do their work, they can beneficially impact pathogens and pests not only inside the hive, but also help to boost the human and global immune system. These are just a few examples of how bees enhance social and ecological health. It is very important that more research is done to better understand the causes of the collapse of bee and pollinator populations, to better protect them and reverse the severe population loss that have decimated the species.