2. Honey math
To produce a kilogram of honey requires 100,000 loads of nectar
100,000 loads of nectar = visits to 10 million individual flowers
10 million visits to individual flowers = 400,000 km in flight
400,000 km in flight = twice the earth’s circumference

3. Honey stomach

4. Nectar is transferred
from the forager to a
worker in the hive via
mouth-to-mouth
exchange (trophallaxis)
In the hive, workers
repeatedly regurgitate the
nectar 100 to 200 times,
to allow it to evaporate

5. Invertase converts sucrose into glucose and fructose

6. Steps in honey-making 2. regurgitation, concentration
and biochemical conversion
3. storing in comb
and capping
4. returning
for more
nectar
1.gathering
nectar from
flowers
honeybee.org.au/wonderfulhoney/ images/Page4-5.jpg

7. Components of honey Vitamins and minerals Enzymes Sugars -- Glucose
Ascorbic acid
Beta-carotene
Tocopherols
Ca, P, K, Fe, Cu, Mn, Mg
Enzymes
Catalase
Peroxidase
Glucose oxidase
Sugars
-- Glucose
-- Fructose
-- Sucrose
-- Some oligosaccharides
Secondary metabolites
Alkaloids
Flavonoids
Organic acids
Phenolics

9. Toxins found in honey
Terpenoids (e.g., andromedotoxin from rhododendron)
Alkaloids (e.g., pyrrolizidine alkaloids from tansy ragwort)
Botulinum toxin (from bacterial spores)

10. Honey hunting scene from the Cave of the Spiders, 6000 BC

12. Egyptian clay hives BC

14. 400 BC- 1 AD Greek kept bees inpottery hives,
ridged to provide surface for comb
1 AD-300 AD Romans kept bees in at least
nine different kinds of hives,
including log, wicker, dung,
wood, and clay

15. Roman soldiers carried
honey in their medical kits

16. Virgil (Georgics
Book IV.1.317)
The shepherd Aristaeus,
son of Apollo and the water
nymph Cyrene, and first
instructor in the art of bee
management

17. Medieval skep ca AD--
the world’s first upright hive

18. ”Driving the bees”

19. Nutt collateral hive. 19th century Greek top-bar hive, 17th century
Leaf hive, 1789
(Francis Huber)
outdoorplace.org/beekeeping/ graphics/Hive.gif

20. Reverend L. L. Langstroth,
inventor of the movable frame hive,
1851

21. “Bee space” = approx. 0.25-0.375 inch
nanaimo.ark.com/~cberube/ images/5-4.jpg

23. Langstroth hive

24. Commercially desirable attributes of honey
it tastes sweet (baking industry, medicine)
it’s hygroscopic (baking industry, cosmetics)
it can contain antibacterial and antioxidant agents (nutraceutical)

27. Honey facts and figures
Q: How many honey bee colonies are managed in the United States?
A: Approximately 2.5 million colonies
Q : How many beekeepers? A: About 2400 keep bees as their principal occupation, but over 125,000 people keep bees.
Q: Which states lead the nation in honey production?
A: California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Florida, and Minnesota
Q: How much honey does the average colony produce?
A: About 40 kg (about 80 lb) of honey per colony, and 9 to 18 kg (20 to 40 lb) of beeswax
for every ton of honey harvested.
Q: How much honey is produced in North America every year:
A:From 150,000 to 200,000 metric tons a year.
Q: Which nations are the leading producers of honey?
A: China, the United States, Argentina, Ukraine, and Mexico
Q: Which nations are the leading exporters?
A: China, Argentina, and Mexico.
Q: Which are the leading importers?
A: Germany, the United States, and Japan. .

28. 1 pound of wax = ten pounds of honey
mitsurou.com/gif/8zoom.gif

29. Attributes of wax that make it useful
it has a low melting point (150 degrees) (so it’s a good lubricant)
its melting point is high enough that it can resist weathering
it repels water (so it’s good for waterproofing
it’s nonpoisonous (so it’s good for cosmetics, ointments, and food products

31. Candles Waterproofing
Lost wax bronze Batik Pysanky

35. www.jonesbee.com/ images/QUEEN.gif

39. Propolis--”bee glue” made
by honey bees from flavonoid-
rich resins collected from
poplar andother trees

40. Artepillin C, a component of Brazilian honey, is
an efficient antioxidant xlink.rsc.org/

41. Varroa mite
Tracheal mite

42. Small hive beetle, Aethina tumida
(Nitidulidae), discovered in Florida in 1998

43. Small hive beetles… feed on stored pollen and honey
burrow as larvae through the comb
uncap the cells and defecate into the honey, making it unattractive (to say the least) to the bees
cause honey to ferment