Monday, August 31, 2020

The wings of a Honeybee

Honeybees use their wings to fly, right? Honeybees have multiple important uses for their wings, including controlling the temperature, and communication. They can flap their wings up to 200 times in just a second!

Honeybees release what  are called pheromones, which humans also have. Pheromones are excreted through the glands of a honeybee. Pheromones have a smell that the other bees need to be aware of, because different smells mean different situations. During an emergency, a honeybee will use their wings to fan around a banana smelling pheromone to alert the other honeybees what is happening. The queen uses her pheromones to let the other honeybees know that she is their queen, and the hive she is in is their hive too. When the queen is ready to pass away or is getting old, she releases less pheromones, or different smelling ones, and that let's the other honeybees know that they need to prepare for a new queen soon. 

The honeybees use their wings to control the temperature in their hive. When it needs to be warmed up for colder climates, honeybees will ball up together and fan their wings to generate a nice, toasty heat for themselves. In hot climates, honeybees will bring droplets of water to their hive, and fan those out to evaporate the cool sensation of the water. Without their wings, honeybees would freeze in the winter, or overheat in the summer. 

Honeybees use their wings to create honey! When nectar is brought back to the hive from floral sources, a honeybee will put that nectar in a cell of the honeycomb, and she will then use her wings to fan the nectar, so it draws water out and becomes thicker. This is needed, so that the water content is down to at least 18%, and the honey will then not spoil.

With all the different uses of a honeybee's wings, they sure are buzz-y bees!
Training To Be A Beekeeper | Bee keeping, Bee, Bee garden

Saturday, August 1, 2020

8 Household Uses of Honey

Honey is more than a sweet treat! We find antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial (cleaning) and hygroscopic (helps with healing) properties in it which makes it useful for much more than eating. If you want to learn how honey gains these properties you can learn about it in our past blog post about enzymesHoney has many purposes both in and outside of the kitchen. Try out of some of our favorite ways to use honey!

Honey sticks have 1 teaspoon of honey in them which is the perfect amount for a face wash!
Honey sticks have 1 teaspoon of honey in them
which is the perfect amount for a face wash!

  1. Energy boost: Honey has the power to give you energy! A lot of athletes take honey before their competitions. The healthy sugars and protein rich pollen in honey give your body the nutrients it needs to perform!
  2. Face wash: To moisturize and clean your face with honey, simply wet your face with warm water and smooth some honey on your face. Leave it on 10-15 minutes and rinse off. You’ll find that your skin is cleaner, softer, and your pores are smaller. Tip: honey sticks are the perfect size for one face wash. Some Honey Queens like to travel with honey sticks to always have honey on hand for their face washes.
  3. Heal cuts and wounds: Did you know honey can be used to treat small cuts, burns, and bites? Some people even call honey “Nature’s Neosporin because of the cleaning and healing properties. Take some honey on a band-aid and place on your wound. Some hospital use honey as their preferred treatment for burns.
  4. Heal pimples: If you or your older sibling get pimples, you can dab some honey on it next time you get one. The cleaning properties of honey help it go away!
    Try adding honey to your favorite drink
    to soothe your throat
  5. Hair magic: Honey can even be used on your hair! To moisturize your hair so it’s less frizzy and make it shiny, smooth  honey throughout wet hair and leave for 10 minutes before rinsing.
  6. Beauty bath: Some say that Cleopatra bathed in milk and honey to keep her skin healthy and beautiful. Try adding a spoonful or two of honey to the water next time you take a bath!
  7. Soothe your throat: Honey coats your throat whenever you eat it and is a natural cough suppressant. You can add it to tea or your favorite drink or snack. One of our favorite drinks is honey water which you can make by warming up water and adding honey to taste.
  8. Sleep aid: Try taking a spoonful of honey before you go to bed to help you fall asleep!