Honeybees, not only known for their propensity to sting but also for their discipline and work ethic, are social insects that live in hives and feed on pollen and nectar. A common hive may hold thousands of bees. A hive consists of a queen, a few hundred drones (productive males) while the rest are workers. The worker bees (sterile females) find food and use a pattern of dancing to communicate with each other. The bees have a 40-day life, during this period they fly as much as six miles from the hive to find nectar.

A worker bee drinks the liquid nectar and stores it in its special honey stomach. It continues to forage, visiting blossoms, until its honey sack is full. While carrying the nectar back to the hive their bodies break it down into two simple sugars — fructose and glucose. After tucking it into a honeycomb cell the bees beat their wings furiously over this syrup to fan out the moisture and thicken the substance. When it is done, they seal the cell with beeswax, securing the honey. One worker bee produces around one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its entire life.

The queen bee is an adult mated female and lays all the eggs in the colony. The wax is secreted from their bodies and used to construct their comb. Wax comb is used to store honey, pollen and house larvae and pupae.

Honey is a high energy food, primarily composed of glucose, fructose sugars and water which provide calories. It also contains anti-biotic substances and vitamins that are necessary for health. Consumed on its own as well as in food preparation, honey and wax also have cosmetic qualities and are used in moisturising, revitalising and nourishing cosmetic creams. Cleopatra is said to have been aware of the unique qualities of honey and used it for beautifying her skin and hair. Some people eat spoonfuls, others are put off by its sweetness, but there is no denying that honey has long been among the top superfoods used to treat countless health conditions and boost overall health. With its rich and vibrant history, beekeeping has the potential to be used successfully as a development tool and across the world in any given location, most beekeepers have proven the endeavour successful.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 21st, 2016