Propolis

An informative presentation on propolis by Georgia Master Beekeeper Cindy Hodges. Including the benefits to bee colonies, collection, history, uses, health benefits and more
Recorded at the Georgia Beekeepers Association 2022 fall convention.

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

We use propolis in a home medicine back in Belarus in early 70 my parents before that their parents use it before them,medicinal properties of propolis being known in that part of the world for a long time

[@sarebear5207]

👍👍👍 excellent

[@solivaguswayfarer]

Thank you Bob for recording, interleaving all the slides, and sharing Cindy's presentation; it was very interesting. I now understand why you like the bee glue ☺️

[@MiroBG359]

Interesting KZbin suggestion. When I was 11, bee propolis saved me from the ghoulish communist health system of Bulgaria. I had the worst stomach pain for a week after eating one too many cherries from grandma's tree. Doctors didn't know why and wouldn't spend the money on barium scan because it was "scarce" but suggested they'll have to cut my stomach open and see what they find. It's dangerous but oh well. Talk about third world. I still remember getting back to the car and mom losing her mind at the thought of surgery. I was in so much pain, unable to sleep for a week. I would dose off on top of a bottle full of hot water or knelt next to the bed so my stomach would press on the edge and make the pain subside a bit. Mom took me to a former colleague, a gypsy woman who was an energy healer. She waved her arms at me standing 10ft away and said she felt like there's a sore somewhere at the end of my stomach but wasn't sure. Her suggestion was to take a bee propolis tincture. We got home, dad heard and just cussed at how stupid that is. So he bribed the doctors the next day and got them to give me a barium scan. Five doctors came over to look at my stomach while one of them pressed the scanner on me ... some kind of disturbance... something that looks like an ulcer of the duodenum. 3-2 ulcer of the duodenum. But not 100%. Still would have to cut me open in a week if I don't get better I got dispatched to grandma with a bottle of bee propolis tincutre. Every morning I took 10-12 of the dark brown drop in hot water, on empty stomach. Within a week the pain was barely there. I still remember grandma crying happy tears while counting the drops when I told her how much better I felt. In 3 weeks the pain went away completely. A month or so and I was back on regular diet. But no cherries. Bees are magical!

[@kathyhathaway8823]

WOW Bob thank you for posting this. This is something I have been very interested in an was wanting to learn an find out more about it. She did a great study an review about it . Thank you for all you share an do for all the bee keeping family . Thanks

[@BohemiaBees]

What a great talk on one of the most important elements of a bee colony that too many dismiss. Thanks for sharing Bob.

[@bobbinnie9872]

Very welcome

[@livingadamman7994]

Thank you Bob, the part that this did not cover importantly is collection, processing, and storage of Propolis. manufacture of tincture, recipees, etc etc. Perhaps an idea for a part 2 ?

[@robertling9872]

Thank you for sharing this intresting information.

[@jasonhughes3568]

Thank you a lot for sharing, Bob!!! Cindy's talk was great.

[@bobbinnie9872]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@lindasuerussell4398]

Thank you for this presentation, very interesting to consider the positives of propolis and possible health benefits of tiny bits of propolis in raw honey. Bob please increase your honey availability with some comb inside, on your store shelves. Thanks again, LindaSue

[@lynjenkins1562]

Great information. I’ve seen our bees collect it from old hive boxes and swarm traps that I’ve baited with propolis.

[@soulfate2]

very important substance.. keeps the whole inside of the hive sterile and clean .. brilliant

[@dandahlberg4452]

Thanks for sharing Bob. I purchased a couple of Caucasian queens from Old Sol last spring for this vary reason. Those bees definitely produce propolis and I"m glad to have their genetics at play in my apiary!!

[@WoolieBsApiary]

i got my breeder from Jason Bragg at New River Honey Bees love the propolis collection but also the gentleness the bring to my queen breeding program

[@beehivewithaview9760]

I got a WSU open mated caucasian queen this past season and a couple of Old Sol queens as well. They sure know how to glue things down.

[@bobbinnie9872]

I'm with you on this.

[@Dr.JsBees-jeffrector]

Thanks for sharing this Bob!

[@michaelreno8494]

After lots of research and noticing that colony’s with propolis are just plain better and healthier . I decide to go Caucasian in my Apiaries . Even tho reports say the buildup of this race of bee is slow I find that more to do with location . I will enjoy raising this race in KY as I feel pound per pound the ease of the bee and all its quality’s make bee keeping more affordable and less demanding plus why not use propolis it’s the bees medicine . Great presentation . Thank you .

[@lesbendo6363]

Thank you, great video for a newbie! 🇨🇦

[@Loglakeliving]

Excellent presenter and informative, Thank you!

[@cindylee4930]

Thanks for posting this Bob. I wanted to see this presentation but couldn't bee there.

[@scrotiemcboogerballs1981]

Thanks for sharing very informative video I have been wondering about this thank you

[@altaylor293]

Good presentation on an often ignored part of beekeeping. Thanks Bob and Cindy.

[@bobbinnie9872]

Thanks Al.

[@bernardardis8796]

Very happy to see this presentation and glad to report my bees make a ton of propolis and i think that is why i am able to stay treatment free so far with my 10 colonies. I intend to brand equipment before spring which will feature roughsawn insides on cedar boxes to fight decay and hopefully provide a more natural defense mechinism inside with a propolis envelope. I owe a great thanks to you Bob and everyone you interview with on all of the topics you cover that is making it possible for me to work towards my goal of fulltime beekeeping.

[@bobbinnie9872]

Thank you.

[@maragrace820]

I never have problems with Varroa. I had the problem only 1 time, the time that I bought my first hive and it was treated. by February it was full of varroa. So I wrapped the hive for 4 days to protect it from frost and that raised the humidity in the hive and all the varroa died and fell on the white board. Never had issues ever since and I have never treated

[@Merlin.Twiggles]

Great share!

[@mabrock]

Thank you .

[@bobbinnie9872]

Welcome 😊

[@floydlivingston6762]

I have watch my bees come to a Douglas fir tree and a Spruce they Climb on the Needles very Interesting to watch them

[@TrickyTrev01]

Very informative and interesting thanks for sharing TrickyTrev 🇦🇺👍🐝🍯

[@bobbinnie9872]

No problem 👍

[@dianetaylor6751]

1 to 2 percent of the forager population? My 1to 2% must be pretty darn efficient at collecting it. Shoot I scrape off the goo from my gloves and by the time I am thru 20 or 30 hives I have a nice little ball. I push it on to a fence post and presto...the girls magically appear and start sticking it on their legs. My girls do love their goo most definitely. And the hives that seem to really enjoy collecting it the most here show a heavy influence of Apis mellifera mellifera (old European black bee). They are dark to black and short bodied bees and very winter hardy.

[@bernardardis8796]

I also was astounded to hear that small % as well since my bees are making a ton of it and i jus scrape it off and keep it where i need to like the burr wax as well. It all adds up and has uses

[@troysilver6853]

I like the chew on it as it whitens my teeth after it wears off.

[@shevlin2650]

Great video Bob. Thanks for sharing. SML BEEs

[@bobbinnie9872]

Thanks Craig.

[@BrianJMader-sz7jw]

Great video👍

[@bobbinnie9872]

Thanks 👍

[@jenniferapiary]

Good information thanks

[@teeky-rh9lz]

Wowie. I learned a lot. Nice. I like propolis now😊😊😊😊😊❤💙

[@bobbinnie9872]

👍

[@andrerousselsapet5219]

❤❤💪💪😊🐝

[@danielweston9188]

I have been making "artificial" Propolis to seal joints and cracks for a decade - great stuff (anti SHB mainly). 60% resin / 30% Beeswax, 10% wood ash and citric acid to lower the PH to 5.5. ( I put in a reusable caulking tube)

[@houstonsheltonbees814]

Awesome do you have any videos on that? I'd love to know more about it. thanks, God bless 👍

[@Bri_bees]

I spray Propolis tincture on my plastic foundation instead of waxing them. It's much easier and the bee's love it.

[@mihai.r-beekeeper5694]

Hello Bob. Very interesting and welcome information. It is good for consumers to know the benefits of propolis. Bob, I have a personal request if I'm not asking too much: how do sourwood trees propagate from seed or cuttings? I want to plant in the garden at the beehives. Thank you very much. All good.

[@bobbinnie9872]

They are great seed producers and are one of the first things to come up in the woods, on freshly disturbed soil, in our area.

[@mihai.r-beekeeper5694]

@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks a lot Bob. I think it would also fit in my area in Romania. Especially with my bees. Good health and all the best.

[@sonofthunder.]

nice,i wonder if wax i melt to coat frames of foundation benefit from bits of propolis,slumgum etc for bait traps,...is propolis flammable,i imagine resins would be ,ill have to test some out

[@alanwatts9232]

Thanks Bob. A few years ago my parents had a friend who had been a chemical engineer in a well known paint manufacturing company. Just for fun my dad asked him what propolis was made of, he said he didn't know but would go away and research it. He came back ecstatic; many years earlier he had received a complaint from a customer as to why bees were attacking the side of the house he had just painted, my dad's friend couldn't work it out until years later when he realized they likely wanted it for their propolis.

[@bobbinnie9872]

I once saw a colony full of what looked to me to be red barn paint. Perhaps it actually was.

[@alanwatts9232]

@@bobbinnie9872 I would say so. Thanks again.

[@researcherAmateur]

I test mine every year. One time it had road asphalt from a newly built road.. a couple of times there was fish oil from a sardine canning factory close by. But it's only a couple of times over 40-50 years.. usually, they test it and pay me premium price

[@maragrace820]

@@researcherAmateur where do you test it?

[@researcherAmateur]

@@maragrace820 its some kind of private clinic / retirement home. My father is working with them since I was a child. I just sent the samples.. honey, pollen, propolis, wax... they do the testing, send me back the paper with the findings and prices. We don't produce much (100 - 300 hives.. depending on the year) so we usually sell everything to them. They like to buy it already packaged in small amounts and l like the price.. so l'm very happy to work with them. They won't buy monoculture and it has to be organic beekeeping. And that's how I like it too

[@Peekul1]

Interesting stuff. Salicaceae is the Willow Family. Willow is how we originally made salicylic acid and aspirin. I'm curious to know if bees use willow.

[@robertdemers5125]

Good Morning Bob !

[@bobbinnie9872]

😃 👍

[@robertstwalley3662]

intersting, I am a small sidliner, but we had bees on 138 acers of CRP pollinator ground that had little access to any trees. Never did as well as my bees down on the river only 30 miles away. Question, can bees only get propolis from trees and brush "woody" plants or can they collect it from wild flowers as well?

[@bobbinnie9872]

I'm not an expert at this but I don't think they can get it from wild flowers.

[@davegaetano7118]

My bees propolised my hog mat carriers that I used for oxalic acid extended release strips. The hog mat carriers had been in the hive a long time. I noticed less of this problem when I used swedish sponges as a carrier for oxalic acid extended release strips. The swedish sponges did not last as long as the hog mat before being chewed up by the bees, and maybe that is why I did not see as much propolising of the swedish sponges. It seemed to me that the hog mat carriers became useless as a distributor of oxalic acid after being propolised.

[@izinyosib821]

Just FYI, A. cerana japonica is confirmed _not_ to collect propolis.

[@davegaetano7118]

I dip many of my hive boxes in very hot beeswax, as a wood preservative. But now I am wondering if this inhibits the bees from coating that wax with a coat of propolis? And if so, does that reduce the colony's health?

[@bobbinnie9872]

That's a good question that I honestly don't know the answer too.

[@researcherAmateur]

I don't agree with those numbers, but our beekeepers never tried to select out propolis collection. We always collected, used and sold propolis. Do an experiment.. at the end of summer, when there is no flow and you remove excluders (just before yellow jackets start...). Make a 3/8 rim with an entrance, 10-15cm long.. put it where the excluder was, entrance over entrance, on a single brood box hive.. I can get a baseball size piece of propolis from every hive, in 10-15 days.. cutting it off that hole every two days. After that I stop, because it really is a difficult job for them. It's normal for my bees to glue frames to the entrance in the bottom box.. and reduce it themself

[@WoolieBsApiary]

Bob Binnie are you going to post the video from the South Middle Tennessee conference back in Sept.

[@bobbinnie9872]

I did the same presentation at the Mississippi Beekeepers convention yesterday and I think it went better. If it recorded well it will be the one I post in early January.

[@WoolieBsApiary]

@@bobbinnie9872 would love to rewatch it ive talked about it to many folks.

[@toprakanaciftligi8037]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@bobbinnie9872]

👍

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

It amazes me that more super (hive) builders do not texture their interiors. Or beekeepers themselves retro grooving. Drawing the bees into making the "propolis envelope".

[@bobbinnie9872]

It's got me thinking.

[@garycasey991]

With what you said maybe I need to have it tested I have a bad case of allergies maybe I eat too much honey. Maybe I buy the wrong honey.

[@ronaldlassiter4863]

Bob will cake frosting hurt honeybees ?

[@graemediesel2936]

Thanks Bob. I would like to buy some Caucasians to mix some genes into my apiary but I haven’t been able to find any available in Canada.

[@murat5103]

Propolis using for Mummy aprox.5000 year ago Egypt. Caucasian , anatolian bees best propolis collector. Brother Adam used Antolian bees for made Bucfast bees. In Turkey over 1000-2000 meter high Caucasian bees works and live very well. 0 -1000 meters high beetwen Anatolian bees effective. U.S beekeepers and entomologists must look Anatolia bees for future of US beekeeping.

[@zahrahoneypakistan9798]

Respected sir، What is the source of bee wax and propolis?

[@bobbinnie9872]

The bees produce their beeswax and collect propolis from plants.

[@ishaksoukkou4195]

Will there be an Arabic explanation for the video later?

[@bobbinnie9872]

I don't add anything like that.

[@Labgorilla]

I’m a microbiologist specialising in bacteriology. Can I get some propolis for testing in my lab?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Sorry, we don't have any at this time.

[@mehmeterguc1801]

Hi i am Mehmet from Turkey, if you want we can send samples to you. Best Regards.

[@dickwolf3211]

They might purposefully walk on it to remove dirt and debris from their pedipalps?

[@bobbinnie9872]

Perhaps so.

[@vwbusguy]

Aboriginal people from australia have been using resin from our native stingless resin bees for tens of thousands of years

[@trevorparkinson9258]

The Aboriginals in Central Australia collect the resin from spinifex by burning it on a sheet of tin.

[@mangalbariapurehoney]

I want to work on your bee project

[@thinkchair96]

Any way to make propolis more bioavailable to humans without using toxic solvents and alcohols?

[@bernardardis8796]

Water also will work she had mentioned in the video

[@wishicouldspel]

Lol. As if a great share of the human population isn't already infiltrating their bodies with way to many solvents filled with way to small amounts of healthy ingredients already.

[@thinkchair96]

@@wishicouldspel true

[@bobbinnie9872]

I actually use it raw by chewing and swallowing.

[@bernardardis8796]

@@bobbinnie9872 i have tried that as well like gum when working hives. And i hear its good for a toothache in the video.

[@redbone5363]

Believe it or not but just hard peppermint candy in your hive and you will not have SHB. If you will just try it you will be amazed.

[@melissahamm8122]

Propolis manufactured in a laboratory? Not possible.

[@BrainfoodHoney]

@bob binnie I will redesign your website to how you want it $$

[@bobbinnie9872]

Thanks, I've got someone working on it.

[@stephenanderle5422]

Bees that keep their hive spotlessly clean do not use propolis or very little.