Frequently Asked Question
I have been working with honeybees for 40 years. I started in 1982 and had around 75 hives by 18 years of age. My honey was called Queen Royal during those years. After starting a family I started selling my honey in 55 gallon drums to the USDA to spend more time with my kids and family. Once my kids were out of schools they renamed our business Southern Sweet Bee and LLC’d in 2012.
The answer to this after 40 years comes down to several factors or my opinion. Species of plants in an area and their ratios, type of soil play a vital roll a long with rain fall. I have learned to place 2 test hives in a given area to see what quality of honey will come out of it before moving in several hives.
Beeswax candles have a higher melting point, brightest flame and lasts a lot longer than petroleum candles.
Unlike paraffin candles, which are made with a petroleum based wax, Beeswax candles have a completely clean non-toxic burn and produce negative ions when burning which is very good.
You can check through Google or a search engine however since paraffin wax is derived from petroleum oil, the researchers suggest that using these candles frequently will cause dangerous pollutants drifting in the air, which can be harmful when inhaled.
Honeybees have to eat 6 pounds of honey to produce 1 pound of wax through glands in the abdomen and is excreted to create the hive itself. The female worker bees have 8 glands that produces the wax when it’s time to build the honeycomb. The wax that is secreted hardens as soon as it hits the air and forms a wax scale.
A honeybee generally visits 50 to 100 flowers during one collection flight which produces around 1 drop of nectar. It takes 10 drops of nectar to produce 1 drop of honey. Since nectar is condensed 10 to 1 to make honey it generally takes over 2 million flower visits just to make 1 pound of honey.
Worker bees live about 38 days in the summer and around 200 days in the winter. Queens can live up to 5 years. And the male drones live around 60 days.
Honey is packed full of vitamins and minerals and is the best sweetener in my opinion but not only for that fact but it’s easier digested and because it also provides plant based pollen which if it’s local helps one make antibodies for plant allergies. It’s just a big win altogether.
Southern Sweet Bee starts harvesting honey from the 1st week of July to the end of August.