bee facts

trained bees

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Just found out recently that bees have been trained as bomb detectors and are able to detect hidden landmines. 

Not only that but honeybees have also been trained to detect illness in the human body cancer being one of the illnesses.

Scientists have found that honey bees the species Apis mellifera have an extraordinary sense of smell that is more acute than that of a sniffer dog because of this they can detect airborne molecules in the parts-per-trillion range.

Bees can be trained to detect specific chemical odours, including the biomarkers associated with illnesses such as tuberculosis, lung, skin and pancreatic cancer.

 

bee facts

Solitary Bees

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Most species of bees are solitary ie each female makes her own nest. Solitary bees are shorted lived as adults ie having grown through the stages of egg, larva and pupa before becoming adults. In the UK there are about 270 different species of bees of which about 240 are solitary bees.

Majority of solitary bees nest in the ground. The female builds the nest herself by using her body to dig out a nesting chamber. She then adds pollen to the chamber and lays an egg. She then seals off this section of the nest before moving onto creating another chamber. Some species of bees in the UK that nest inside the ground create turrets over their nests, which are often very distinctive.

A number of species also nest aerially, mostly in old beetle holes often sealing the nests with a saliva like substance, mud, chewed leaves, resin or sections of leaves which they cut with their jaws. These species of solitary bees are the ones most likely to adopt to artificial nests in gardens. The solitary bee Ceratina cyanea, excavates its own aerial nest, mostly in bramble stems. This small metallic blue bee excavates out the pith of the bramble stem and nests there. What is even more unusual is that both the males and females also overwinter, hibernating in the stems.

There is also a species of solitary bee that nests in snail shells and three of these species live in the UK. They use chewed up leaves to seal off each section inside the empty nest shells and camouflage the shell in some way or other.

honey info, honey recipe

Honey and Cholesterol

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Eating healthily and getting plenty of exercise will help in lowering cholesterol a handy wee remedy is taking:

two tablespoons raw honey

three teaspoons of cinnamon powder

mix well then add a tablespoon of this mixture to a glass of water and drink – one experiment showed a 10% reduction within two hours.

or use a tablespoon of the mixture on your toast in place of jam and butter or in porridge. Rest keep in a clean tub or jar for next day.

Maximum amount of honey to take per day is 2 tablespoons.

 

bee facts, raw honey, remedies

honeycomb and honey cappings for troubled breathing

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Had a call over a week ago from someone in Bolton saying that his uncle had suddenly got trouble breathing and was being admitted to hospital and would be put onto oxygen.  He was worried that once on oxygen he may end up on a ventilator – tested negative for covid – so advised to take either honeycomb or honey cappings.  He asked which was stronger so advised that start off with honey cappings and then continue with honeycomb once finished as the cappings are much stronger and honeycomb continues the healing.  He bought the cappings for his uncle and sent to him in hospital, family are allowed to send food and other things for their family member in hospital but not allowed to visit.  His uncle took the cappings 1/2 teaspoon in his mouth at night and kept it in his mouth without chewing just sucking for half an hour then put the wax in the bin and repeated this next morning.  He is now out of hospital after one week and breathing better but will continue the cappings compared to others who went in at same time as him with same problem and still in. That does not mean that it helps every breathing difficulty problem but does help most as it has honey in it which is antibiotic and antibacterial.

Honeycomb and honey cappings are good for those with asthma, pneumonia and other chest (lung) problems and by keeping the wax in your mouth for half an hour by sucking or chewing brings out all the enzymes, vitamins, minerals and healing properties from deep inside the wax. It works similar to homeopathic pills where you need to keep the pill at the tip of your tongue until it melts and the wax is in your mouth for half an hour and often on the tip of your tongue unknowingly.

As soon as you start to get breathing problems immediately start on honeycomb or honey cappings to try to avoid going into hospital especially at this time of uncertainty.  Though remember to contact your doctor to advise of your problem.

Honeycomb and Cappings

bee facts

Bee Beards

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Who knew there was such a thing as a bee beard!

Some honey vendors round about 1830s started sporting “bee beards” to draw attention to their honey and bee products. Honey beards are made by holding a caged queen bee beneath the chin this allows the bees to cluster across the face. This is still fashionable to date and there is a competition held in Ontario, Canada, each year to create the most impressive bee beard.
 
Not sure if i would like to do that but certainly interesting and brave of those who do this.
remedies

Ginger Shots

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Last month we decided to make ginger shots for those who don’t really like honey and need to boost their immunity and also for those who have a sore throat.  We have two varieties original, and kalonji powder.  Both have their unique taste and all hit the back of your throat.  Ginger and lemon have always been used for centuries with honey as a cold and flu remedy and as we are in that season decided we will make our own remedy used by ourselves and family and friends.

Two days ago we received two calls from two different customers saying that they had had a sore throat and had taken the ginger shot before going to bed and when asked how much they said 1 tablespoon.  They said it hit the back of their throat, and by the way it was delicious, and when they woke in the morning their sore throat was gone. Woohoo that is great news to hear.  Advised them to take it for another three or four days and once the jar is open to put into the fridge or in a cold cupboard the jar of ginger shots will last 6 months.

As the honey has lemon juice and ginger in it needs to kept in the fridge – this is the only time honey should be kept in a fridge.