When a man finds a conclusion agreeable, he accepts it without arguement, but when he finds it disagreeable, he will bring against it all the forces of logic and reason.
-Thucydides, ancient Greek historian, c. 460 BCE – c. 395 BCE.
Science is about the process; it's not about the conclusion.
-Dr. Steven Novella, noted skeptic.
Trivia!
Apitherapy, Home Remedies, Mythology, and Science
As beekeepers, we would love to tout all that one hears or reads about the various health or medical benefits of honey, pollen, bee venom, and other products of the hive. Unfortunately, many of these claims are simply unfounded or, at best, anecdotal. Although most of these claims are questionable, there are some promising health benefits associated with the products of the beehive that are receiving real attention and are being actively researched.
Please let us know if you find an error or something in need of correction.
Sometimes it is difficult to pick out what is true from what is fictitious, urban legend, an old wives' tale, or simply a scam. If a claim is not backed by evidence in a rigorous, published, peer-reviewed study, then it is definitely suspect and likely false. Even if a study was conducted, one must understand that not all studies have equal merit and standing until they survive the scrutini of others and are strengthened through additional study that confirms prediction. A claim can benefit from a healthy dose of skepticism until it is verified. A single positive study supporting a claim usually means merely that more study is needed.
Some studies are more obviously conclusive, but neither The Carolina Bee Company nor science fully endorse something until study after study confirm it and a consensus is formed. That is how science works.
Here are some of the facts and myths we have run across:
Fact and Fiction
Fact!
- Honey bees pollinate roughly 1/3rd our food supply, or 80% of the pollination required for our fruit, vegetable and seed crops.
- Honey and wound dressing: Honey has superior anti-septic, anti-bacterial, and general anti-microbial properties. Use honey in place of anti-bacterial creams and ointments on wounds. It particularly excels as a burn treatment.
- Honey should not be fed to infants less than 1 year old.
The reason: infant botulism. Honey and corn syrup can contain botulism spores that the infants gastronomical system cannot combat. For the same reason, infants need to also avoid vacuum cleaner dust and soil. Especially in the first 6 months of life. Infant botulism from any one of these sources may be the cause for many SIDS cases.
Promising
- Nighttime cough and sleep difficulty: Study suggests honey provides superior cough relief. Here's some discussion in The James Randi Education Foundation's forums. The science looks sound. But more study is probably needed to be conclusive. For easier reading, the New York Times reported as well. Just mix lemon juice with honey and consume every few hours. Or just use honey alone!
- Propolis and dental treatment: There is some positive evidence for the use of propolis in the treatment of canker sores and other treatments surrounding anti-inflammation. Propolis is beginning to garner interest for potential future study for a number of potential applications.
- Propolis and cancer: Research is underway, but evidence is minimal at the moment and non-conclusive. We are hopeful.
Suspect
- Bee venom therapy: Be very skeptical, but there does seem to be a cortisol effect that may be effective therapy for things like arthritis, tendinitis, etc. But, research is slim. Multiple sclerosis sufferers also have looked to bee venom for treatment. There is zero evidence that bee venom aids MS sufferers unfortunately.
- Allergies and local honey: Does local raw (merely filtered) honey help relieve pollen allergies?
Honey contains minute quantities of pollen, so it makes physiological sense that a couple tablespoons of local honey a day months prior to allergy season may have a benefit. But the evidence is just not there. That being said, even some allergists give this idea some credence. It may help to a limited degree or it may not. Give it a whirl. Buy local honey because it's higher quality and tastes fantastic!
Fiction!
-
"I'm allergic to honey bees." This could potentially be filed under Suspect.
We hear this claim all the time in the context that the claimant is dangerously allergic to bee stings. Far more people (by many magnitudes) claim to be dangerously allergic to honey bee stings than actually are.
There are degrees of severity. Most people are allergic to honey bee stings to a limited extent (like we are), but not dangerously or systemically so. Less than 1% of the population needs fear being stung by honey bees. For an example, the first time that Todd was stung by a honey bee, his whole hand (and then some) swelled up (think: catcher's mitt). This is a normal allergic reaction and not something to fear.
One can also be systemically allergic to the stings of honey bee relatives (ants, wasps) but not allergic at all to honey bees. If you suspect you are sensitive, visit your local allergist. If that allergist says you are allergic to honey bee stings, ask him or her "how allergic?". You are probably not systemically allergic to honey bees.
- Royal jelly and pollen as "miracle" or "perfect" foods: they aren't, except for bees. If someone claims they are, it's a scam or they are simply perpetuating a myth.
Other Fun Facts and Trivia
We found some of these facts from our very favorite beekeeping book: The Beekeeper's Handbook, by Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile.
- The honey bee is the state insect for a number of states:
1973: Arkansas, North Carolina 1980: Mississippi 1974: New Jersey ("state bug") 1983: Utah 1975: Georgia, Maine, Nebraska 1985: Missouri 1976: Kansas 1990: Tennessee "official
agricultural insect"1977: Louisiana, Vermont, Wisconsin 1992: Oklahoma 1978: South Dakota 2002: West Virginia
- Forage range: 2-mile radius (8000 acres) - maximum 5-8 mile radius
- Average worker bee lifetime flight mileage: 500 miles
- Number of flowers visited per bee per load of pollen: 50 to 350
- Number of pollen grains on a pollinating bee: 250,000 to 6,000,000 (flower dependent)
- Lethal dose of venom: approximately 10 bee stings per pound of body weight
- Amount of honey produced per hive per year: up to 400 pounds
Amount of honey in excess that a beekeeper can claim per hive per year: 0 to 200 pounds (averaging 50-80 pounds). The rest is for the bees. - Pounds of honey per gallon: 12
- Honey bee development times (in days) from Wikipedia's Honey Bee Brood article:
- Worker's first flight: 10-14 days old
- Queen's mating flight: 7-10 days old
- Consumption of honey per pound of beeswax produced: 17-20 pounds
- Eggs laid per queen per day: up to 2000 at the height of summer
- Maximum flight speed of a worker bee: 15 mph
- Wing frequency of a flying honey bee: approx. 250hz (roughly a B ironically)
- Honey produced per worker in its lifetime: 1/12th of a teaspoon
- One pound of honey: 2 million flowers, and 55,000 miles of flight
- Two very important imports introduced by the Jamestown colony: honey bees and earthworms
- Number of eyes on a honey bee: 5 (3 are primitive light-sensors only)
- Visible color band that bees cannot see: red
Color that red looks like to a bee: shades of black - Colors that particularly stimulate aggressive behavior in a honey bee: brown and black (and therefore, red)
- Number times a single honey bee can sting you: once and then she dies
- Number times a single wasp can sting you: numerous (it does not die in the process)
- Commercial value of the US crops dependent upon honey bees: $14.6 billion (as of 2000). (NOTE: we believe this number only applies to direct food costs, not seed or indirect food costs, like cattle).
- Mankind has been collecting honey for at least 10,000 years and probably his entire existence, and has been keeping or managing honey bees for at least 6500 years (around the time the Egyptian pyramids first began to be built.
- Honey contains: sugars, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants
- Shelf life of honey: no expiration. Honey never spoils if stored away from moisture.
- Our favorite honey varietals: Tulip Poplar and Sourwood
- Number of beekeepers in the US: appr. 200,000 (roughly 95% to 98% are hobbyists)
- Honey bee eusocial evolution may have experienced more selective pressure at the colony level than at the individual level: article
- Methods of communication:
Arafla Cave at Bicorp
near Valencia, Spain.
6000BCE to 10,000BCE.
