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Products of the Beehive

Honey

Liquid
Creamed
Flavored / Infused
Comb
Chunk Honey
Mead (Honey Wine)

Honey Bees

Apitherapy (Venom)
Nucs, Packages
Cells, Virgin, Mated Queens
Breeder Queens
Pollination

Beeswax

Wax
Candles
Cosmetics
Foundation
Preservative, Sealants, Water-Proofing

Pollen

Granules
Bee Bread / Perga

Propolis

Royal Jelly

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KY Honey Bee Products Processing Requirements

All producers selling honey are required to comply with the Kentucky Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (KRS 217.005-217.215). Currently no home based processing class for honey products, except up 150 gallons of raw honey.

Liquid, creamed and comb honey (Raw, No Additives)

>150 gallons (1800lbs)

Commercial kitchen & KY permit
KRS 217.187

Infused or Flavored Honey

All amounts: Commercial Kitchen & KY Permit

Ex: Bourbon Aged, Hot Honey

Cosmetics, Lip Balms, Lotions, Soap

All Amounts: Licensed commercial facility

Wax / Candles

No Requirements

Bees, Queens, Packages, Nucs

No requirements in KY
If transferring across states, the receiving state may require an inspection and permit

Commercial Food and Cosmetic Manufacturing in Kentucky: A Starter Guide chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/dphps/fsb/FSDocs/manufacturingstarterguide.pdf

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IN Honey Processing & Sale Requirements

Honey

There are three categories of honey producer/sellers:

a wholesale food establishment (WFE) operated under 410 I AC 7-21 and IC 16-42-5
a retail food establishment (RFE) operated under 410 I AC 7-24 and IC 16-42-5
a vendor operating under IC 16-42-5-29 (Home Based Vendor “HBV”).

Must complete Food Handler course offered online
Can only ship products within the state
Products must come from primary residence
Can only sell at Road Side Stand or Farmer’s Market

A roadside stand has to be within 100 ft of the road

HBV Labeling Requirements

All food products produced by home-based vendors much include the following information:

The name and address of the producer
The common or usual name of the food product
The ingredients of the food product, in descending order by predominance by weight
The net weight and volume of the food product by standard measure or numerical count
The date on which the food product was processed
The following statement in at least 10 point type: "This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by Indiana Department of Health. NOT FOR RESALE."

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KY Honey Bee Products Processing Requirements

KSBA Honey Rules Taskforce 2024-2025

Led by Jake Barker is currently working to revise state requirements to be more inline with the nation. Cosmetics, infused honey and raw honey are each handled differently.

Increase >150 gallon limit for honey
Add infused/flavored honey to home-based processing
Reduce cosmetic processing requirements

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KY Live Honey Bee Transfer & Sale Requirements

The state of Kentucky does not have any laws regarding the purchase, sale or transfer of live honey bees within or across state lines.

However, other states may require a permit and an inspection from the state apiarist to bring bees from KY into their state.

Indiana requires a permit and inspection.

Inspection requests can be made contacting our KY State Apiarist Amanda Skidmore Amanda.Skidmore@ky.gov

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Honey

Liquid
Creamed
Flavored / Infused
Comb
Chunk Honey
Mead (Honey Wine)

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Liquid Honey

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Setting hive up for honey production

In Louisville, start supering strongest hives at the end of March and proceed with weaker hives in April.

Common mistake of new beekeepers is to super too late and underestimate rapid growth of 2nd year hive.
Honey production starts the year before, establishing a healthy colony in fall. Treating for mites, ensuring nutriation
Curb swarm instinct. Naturally overwintered hives want to swarm in April before the main honey flow.
There will be a few potential strong flows in late March and April. Highly dependent if weather cooperates.
Remove leftover honey and pollen in brood boxes to give space and facilitate expansion. Consider reversing brood boxes if bees are only in top box and bottom box is empty.
Check for swarm cups and beginning of swarm cells. Destroy them to delay swarming.
Apply swarm prevention techniques such as demara board
Towards the end of April and May at peak honey flow hives can draw out an entire box in a week. Don’t underestimate and provide extra boxes once temps are consistently warm.

Add Honey Supers to Hive

(Late March - June)

Pull dry honey�(Mid May-July)

Bees draw and fill combs �(Late March - June)

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The Bee Season (Why timing so critical)

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Setting hive up for honey production

Queen Excluders will keep the queen in the brood boxes and prevent brood comb in honey supers. Once brood comb is in your honey supers it needs to be stored in a way to prevent wax moths.

If using wax foundation ensure it is cross wired to prevent blowouts during extraction and warping. Bees will draw much more readily on pure wax foundation than plastic.

If using plastic foundation ensure it has a thick coating of wax. Consider recoating plastic frames with wax, especially if they were already on the hive. Bees can strip off wax.

When adding undrawn blank foundation

Temporarily put below queen excluder until drawing occurs.
Space frames tightly together
Add 1 or 2 drawn combs to get them started.

Once frames are drawn you can evenly space at 8 or 9 frames per 10 frame box so combs are drawn past the top bar for easy uncapping with a knife. Spacer tools are available at most bee supply companies

Never feed or apply treatments when honey supers are on the hive.

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Honey Extraction Flow Chart

Heat & Dry Honey Frames 90 - 110F�1-3 Days

Remove Wax Capping

Spin Honey

Strain / Filter

Rest / Debubble

Pull Boxes of Ripe Honey

Bulk Storage

Warm

Bottle & Label

Honey Wax Separation

Dry to Moist Wax Flake

Remove Frames from Box

Store

Clean Wax

Process

Bottled Honey

All equipment should be made of food safe materials

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Pulling Honey

With experience you can tell when honey is ready to be pulled, until then proceed with caution.

2nd week in May first honey is ready in Louisville.
White wax throughout super
Frames and boxes are heavy
Nectar does not shake out of the frame
Honey does not need to be capped if it is dry enough.
Always use a refractometer to spot check.
Take care to prevent outbreaks of robbing during harvesting. Keep boxes covered and work quickly.

Escape Boards (1-way exits)

Install then wait 2-3 days for bees to leave.
Care needs to be given to seal holes to prevent robbing. Small hive beetles can become a problem if waiting too long.

Fumigants (Butyric Acid)

Needs to be warm to work well. Applied to a fume board and set ontop of hive to clear bees
Over application on extremely hot days can cause entire hive to leave the hive.

Smoke

Can be slow, time consuming and alter the smell of honey.

Portable leaf blowers, high

Usually for removing stragglers after fumigation or smoke.

Remove frames one by one and shake or brush bees off. Bees usually become aggravated with a brush.

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Honey Facts

Honey is one of the top adulterated foods in the world next to milk, olive oil, maple syrup.

Honey is a supersaturated mixture of fructose, glucose and sucrose in water with trace minerals. The ratio is dependent on the nectar source.

Fructose: 38.2%
Glucose: 31.3% (Causes Crystallization)
Maltose: 7.1%
Sucrose: 1.3%
Higher sugars: 1.5%
Water: 17.2%
Other 3.5%

The long shelf life of honey is attributed to an enzyme found in the stomach of bees. The bees mix glucose oxidase creating two byproducts – gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, which are partially responsible for honey acidity and suppression of bacterial growth.

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Honey Shelf Life - Fermentation

The shelf life of honey is indefinite but will begin to darken and bitter over time. Honey stored at high temperatures or exposed to sunlight will accelerate this process and form hydroxymethylfurfural that is toxic to bees.

Some types of honey will be more prone to fermentation than others with high yeast spore counts or glucose. Above 20% moisture is a risk, 25% is guarantee unless steps are taken to kill yeast.

2 modes of honey fermentation

#1 Water: Honey is exposed to moist air or water, the hydrophilic properties pull moisture into the honey, eventually diluting it to the point that fermentation occurs.
#2 Crystallization: In a sealed container, the glucose portion of honey crystallizes, which causes the moisture content of the non-crystallized portion of fructose to increase to a point that fermentation occurs.

How to prevent fermentation

Moisture content, target 16 - 18%
Store in sealed containers
Prevent crystallization (see next slide)
Kill yeast (pasteurization, ultrasonic)
Consume quickly, limit storage time

Crystalized Honey that Fermented

Foam from active fermentation

Crystallized Glucose Layer

High Moisture Fructose + Alcohol Layer

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Honey Crystallization

Crystallization can be bad because it can lead to fermentation. The crystals are often large and not uniform like creamed honey is. Otherwise fine to eat.

What causes crystallization

Temperature
Glucose to Fructose Ratio (Honey Type)
Moisture Content
Crystal Growth Sites (Pollen, Debri, Wax)
Seed Crystals
Bubbles/Foam
Time

Most produces what to bottle honey until shipping to consumer so if honey is crystallized it can be bulk heated before bottling.

Crystallization can be reversed by heating honey. Always make sure allow the container to vent. Be careful heating plastic bottles as they will deform. Heating honey bottles in the microwave can be very dangerous.

How to Prevent Crystallization

Store above 70F, 75-85f
Harvest honey between 17-18% moisture
Strain / filter honey
Properly debubble and defoam honey after harvest
Consume quickly, limit storage time
Blend high glucose with high fructose honeys

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Honey Moisture

Very important to monitor moisture to meet USDA honey grade requirements and to prevent fermentation.

The bees are limited on how much they can dry the honey based on the relative humidity of the air.

Honey harvested in May and early June will be naturally dryer because of low relative humidity. After June honey is wetter and bees struggle to dry down honey to an “acceptable” moisture
Don’t assume capped honey is below 18.6% moisture

Different types of honey floral sources will be more or less susceptible to fermentation. Concentration of yeast spores, storage time/temperature/humidity play a role as well. In most cases honey below 20% moisture will not readily ferment. Target 17-18%. Honey dryer than 17% will have a higher tendency to crystalize, although there are more factors at play.

USDA Grade A 18.6%
USDA Grade B 18.6%
USDA Grade C 20%
KSBA Honey Booth 18% Avg, 18.5% Max

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Refractometer (Moisture)

Always use a refractometer. Spot check as you are extracting.

Testing Temperature Calibration

Calibration is usually 68F, 20C.
The temperature of the sample and device directly corresponds to reading error.
Use calibration liquid, some folks use EVOO olive oil.

At the very lease by a cheap chinese manual refractometer.

Automatic electric versions have temperature correction.

Sample Temp (F)	Error % H20	Comment
32	-2.5%
50	-0.9%
60	0.0%
68	18.6%	Calibration
80	1.1%
90	2.0%
100	2.8%

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Hot House & Drying Honey

Honey is stored at 90 - 110F for 1-3 days to decrease viscosity and make extraction easier.

Honey stored longer than 3 days you run the first of small hive beetle larva infestation.

Honey may also be dried to reduce moisture with dehumidification and circulation of air with fans.

Typically honey harvested before June won’t need drying unless it's uncapped. Honey harvest June-August will tend to be wetter and may need drying.
You can dry honey at home in a closet with box fans and a dehumidifier or heat source.

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Honey Decaping Tools

Decapping is usually the most time consuming task. There are many options and techniques of time, cost and how much of the comb is damaged/removed.

Manual (Backyard Hobbyist)

Pin Roller
Forks (Multiple Designs)
Normal and serrated knives
Heated Planes
Electric & Steam Hot Knives

Steam doesn’t overheat but it more difficult to do

Twin Milled Roller

Machine (Sideliner/Commercial)

Spinning Chains (Unheated)
Vibrating Plane Knife (Heated)

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Decapping Tanks

Manual decapping the honey frames occurs overtop a decapping tank to capture the wax and allow the honey to be separated. The honey is drained off and reintroduced into the honey stream. Draining the capping by gravity along can take several days.

Commercial operations use a wax honey centrifugal separator that removes the honey inline to the main process.

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Honey Extraction from Combs

Crush & Stain

Combs are mashed up and then strained to separate honey from wax.
Not ideal, bees cannot reuse combs and start fresh every year.

Honey Spinner

Anything more than 2-frame should be attached to a weighted base or ground
Longer radius applies more force and fits more frames
Motorized Vs Hand Crank

Some hand crank versions can be easily motorized with a ⅜” electric drill.
For most hobbyist’s hand crack are adequate

Various Sizes: Frame Counts and Orientation

Some may only hold mediums or in certain orientations based on size.

Tangential

Extracts 1 side of the frame at a time, requires flipping.
More common for deep frames
Can damage face of the frame and crack cells, but not completely blown out.

Radial

Extracts the entire frame
Not all honey is extracted if the frame is not perfectly centered or cupped
Can be more prone to comb blowouts
Incorporates a lot of air and foam into the honey. Requires defoaming

More configurations and sizes are available than what's shown

8 Medium Radial

12 Medium Radial

2 Deep

4 Deep Trangential

8 Deep Radial

4 Medium Radial

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Straining

After extraction the honey is passed thru a strainer to remove bits of wax, propolis, bee parts and other debri.

Bucket or filter bag strainers work well.

If honey is too cold straining can be very slow >80F

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Storage

Store honey in bulk containers and bottle on demand.

After foam settles, check honey moisture and record date of harvest on bucket.

Honey higher than 20% is at risk of fermentation, ideal range is 17-18%.
Blend high moisture honey with low moisture honey.

Use sealed containers to prevent debri and moisture contamination
Food-safe buckets or drums

Food Safe Plastic
Food Safe Coated Metal
Stainless Steel

Above 70F will help reduce crystallization. Target 80F.
Away from heat and sunlight, honey will form HMF, darken and bitter overtime.
After foam settles, check honey moisture and record date of harvest on bucket

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Debubbling / Defoaming

Let honey sit several days up to a week(s), depending on temperature ideally 80-90F, for the microbubbles from extraction process to rise to the top of the honey.

Skim foam layer before bottling. Given enough time foam layer will eventually disperse.
If you are unsure if honey is debubbled, fill a test jar and place in a warm location 80-90F for a few days.
Honey extracted radially will have many more bubbles than tangential.
Honey pumps can also incorporate air bubbles.
Very important step otherwise if honey is bottled too soon it will have a ring of foam at the top of the bottle.
Some people online say foam is a sign of raw honey. It's really not. It's a sign that you bottled your honey too soon after extraction or fermentation.

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De-Crystallization / Warming / Pasteurization

Decrystallization / Warming

Honey warmed inside buckets and drums or transferred to a warming tank to at least 80F, usually no more than 120 F unless pasteurizing. Simple warming cabinets can be built with an insulated box, temperature controller and heat source.

Hot Water Bath
Warming Room
Electric Heater Wraps
Warming & Bottling Tank Combo Unit / Wax Melter
Double jacketed water or steam tank

Pasteurization

Time vs Temperature curve. Higher temp shorter duration, lower temp longer duration
To kill yeast to prevent fermentation.

Some types of honeys may have very high yeast spore counts that are more susceptible to fermentation.

To “melt” seed crystals and prevent crystallization.
Can destroy naturally occurring enzymes and bio-active materials.
Can darken honey and change flavor. Aromas may be lost.

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Containers

Honey containers are sized by how much weight they hold, not volume. Except mason canning jars.

Plastic

Squeeze bottles with a flip top. Basically all plastic bottle sizes use the same size top 38mm. ⅜, ½, ¾, 1, 1 ½, 2, 3lb
The tops have a pressure seal inside of them that seals the bottle when screwed on.
Bottles can warp and deform if heated such as a water bath or dishwasher
More options of sizes and types of bottles.

Glass

Containers are becoming less popular because they can be difficult to dispense from and are not kid friendly.
Metal or plastic screws tops are available. It's important to pair the correct size lid based on the size of the jar as there are multiple sizes
Slightly more costly 10-20%.
Comes with a box to transport honey bottles.

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Bottling

Bottle honey on demand.

Warm honey for bottling 80F-110F.
Ensure honey is debubbled and free of foam.
Double check moisture
The target fill line is the ring around the bottle just below the cap

Bottling Bucket with Honey Gate is most common for hobbyists

Fills large containers >1lb quickly. Difficult to fill small containers
Messy, drip honey.
Multiple sizes and quality

No drip honey valves

These valves tend to fill slower. Work best for small sizes 1lb bottles and smaller
Completely drip free.

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Labeling Requirements

To ensure labeling regulations are met, it is required that all labels are emailed to the Kentucky Food Safety Branch as a PDF file subject line “Attention: Labeling” food.safety@ky.gov.

To label your honey as monofloral (single source) the FDA requires 47% proven by pollen analysis.

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Raw Honey

Raw honey labeling has grown in popularity and usually means its unpasteurized and unfiltered (strained). Minimally processed. The naturally occurring enzymes and pollen are not removed.

No set standard. Definition varies.
Typically means unpasteurized, max temperature 120F.
Strained not filtered 200 micron or larger
Prone to crystallization and fermentation when stored for long periods of time. Usually not a problem when consumed quickly.
Note: Raw honey may not meet USDA grade A requirements because of cosmetic “defects” crystals, pollen and debri

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USDA Organic

Despite the fact that there have been National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) draft standards for organic apiculture on the books since September 2001, the National Organic Program (NOP) has yet to implement a formal rule on the subject.
As a result, organic honey bee operations are certified under the NOP’s standards for livestock Sections 205.236 – 205.240 which fail to address the unique foraging habits of honey bees.
Importers are allowed to label their honey as organic if they meet the country of origin’s organic requirements.

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Certified Kentucky Honey Producers (CKHP)

Established in 2019, CKHP provides certification that the honey was foraged in Kentucky; authentic local honey.

Kentucky Proud falls short and only provides certification that the business is located in Kentucky.

For Example, Wholesale honey purchased out of state that is bottled in Kentucky can be labeled as Kentucky Proud.

Included with KSBA membership for a small fee $5-30/year based on lbs/year product.
https://kybees.org/About-CKHP

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Where to Sell Honey

Understand the market in your area before scaling.

KSBA KY State Fair Honey Booth

Open to all KSBA members
https://kybees.org/State-Fair

Farmer’s Markets

Can be difficult to find an opening. Markets are more interested in a farm selling a wide range of products vs only honey products.

Club Website
Facebook
Roadside Self Serve Stand
Barbershops, restaurants, gift shops, grocery stores, etc
Wholesale to packers and distributers

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Comb, Chunk, Creamed & Flavored Honey, Mead

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Mead (Honey Wine)

Honey is used as the sugar source.

Not very common due to the high price of honey. An expensive way to make wine that is inherently low flavor vs grapes.

Great way to use lower grade honey such as from a wax melter or old leftover honey that you don’t plan to sell.

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Flavored / Infused Honey

Ingredients are mixed into pure honey to make a flavored honey product.

Herbs & Spices
Peppers, Hot Honey
Preserved fruits & vegetables
Concentrated flavors
Essential Oils
Infusements

Requires a commercial kitchen permit in KY. It is handled under different laws than raw honey harvesting.

The product can no longer be labeled as a single ingredient “Honey”. Instead “Infused” or “Flavored” is included in the label.

Aging honey in bourbon barrels has become a popular product in Kentucky.

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Comb/ Chunk Honey

Demands a premium price. Usually hard to find, hard to produce. Requires specialized equipment some producers may produce a small amount of comb honey or dedicate themselves only to comb honey production Can be hard to produce, frames must be fully capped without blemishes.

Thin unwired wax foundation specially for comb honey should be used.

Chunk honey is small pieces of comb put into liquid honey. Typically using scraps or grade b defects from cut comb production

Standard Box Sizes (Shallow, Medium or Deep)

Cut comb

Messy. Primarily for chunk honey. Doesn’t require special equipment

Wood sections / cassettes inserted into a standard frame.
Hogg Half Comb Frame (Single sided plastic foundation)
Several offbrand types on Ebay and Amazon

Comb Honey Systems. Comb is draw into a premade holder for easy packaging. The box sizes are non-standard 4.75”

Basswood Sections (double sided wax foundation)
Ross Rounds Box (double sided wax foundation)
Hogg Half Comb Cassette Box (Single sided plastic foundation)
Several offbrand types on Ebay and Amazon

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Creamed / Whipped Honey

Creamed honey is honey that has been processed to control crystallization to make it creamy and spreadable.

Creamed honey contains a large number of small glucose crystals, which prevent the formation of larger crystals that can occur in unprocessed honey and also give it the pure white appearance.

The crystallization can vary based on the type of honey, moisture content, temperature and ratio of sucrose, fructose and glucose.

Creamed honey was developed by Elton J. Dyce in the early 1930s where microscopic seed crystals are added to liquid honey. Then paddles intermittently stir the honey mixture while it is kept between 55–70 °F (13–21 °C); creaming completes in 2–3 days. Dyce used the high heat of pasteurization to ensure that his honey source did not already contain crystals too large for the process.

Creamed honey stays in its creamy consistency indefinitely if stored at approximately 65 °F (18 °C) -wikipedia

Whipped honey is simply honey that is stirred to incorporate aire, while similar to creamed honey it lacks the fine grain crystallization and texture of creamed honey. Whipped honey is thinner and more flowable that creamed honey. Many recipes online will say creamed honey but it's actually whipped honey.

Creamed

Whipped

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Honey Bees

Apitherapy (Venom)
Nucs, Packages
Cells, Virgin, Mated Queens
Breeder Queens
Pollination

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The Bee Season (Why timing so critical)

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Queen Calendar

Queen Production Steps

Queen lays eggs into comb.
Day 3-4 eggs hatch into larva and are grafted before they are 48 hrs old into queen cups and put into strong queenless builder colonies that are maintained with fresh hatching brood from doner colonies and given thin syrup and protein for royal jelly production.
Day 8 - Cells Capped. Moved into incubator.

Cell protectors can be added to protect the cells if a virgin hatches early.

Day 14-15 cells are put into a colony to mated
Day 16 queen hatches
Day 19-20 Orientation Flights
Day 20-23 Mating Flights
Day 27 Laying eggs
Day 30 Queen caged. Longer the queen lays the better but often producers cage them after eggs are found.

* Once the queen hatches the time to laying eggs is dependent on the colony size, temperature and weather. During summer a queen can hatch and start laying eggs in less than 7 days. In cool weather could be upto 20 days.

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Queen Production

Normally an operation will be dedicated to queen production.
Queens are sold individually and/ or used for the production of packages and nucs.
Artificially inseminated queen(s) provide eggs for grafting.
Queens are hatched and mated using small mating nucs. Yards nearby are flooded with drones from another breeder queen(s)
Queen rearing can begin about 2 weeks before the first drones are flying in early April and continue thru September until colonies stop producing drones
Types of Queens

Capped Queen Cells
Virgin Queens
Mated Queens
Artificially Inseminated Queens
Options: Marked, Clipped, AFB-Vaccinated

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Nucs (Nucleus Colony)

Whats a Nuc?

Shorthand for nucleus colony, a miniature colony of bees that has all the same things as a normal full sized hive in a smaller quantity.
Sometimes referred to as a “start”, starter colony.
Pickup only, some local nucs makers may drop-off and transfer to your hive.
The standard is 5 Deep Frames

2 frames of brood, 2 food, 1 blank frame
Medium frame nucs can be hard to find.
Some folks may sell 2,3,4 frame nucs as well as a discount.

Costs more than a package but typically will perform better if not installed too late.
There are several different ways to make nucs. Some ways are better than others. See next page

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Types of Nucs

Overwintered

Queen and colony are overwintered together and then sold in spring should be available late March or April.
Proven results, routinely grow to full size and produce honey. Most costly

Locally made queens

The queens are reared by local beekeepers and put into splits.
Possibility of locally adapted stock.
Earliest available in our area is Derby through June. Latest option.

Purchased queens or cells

Locally made splits with queens typically from southern states early in the year.
Available mid April, earlier than locally made queens, but may not be adapted.

Purchased nuc from south

The entire nuc and queen is made in the south and shipped north for pickup at a bee supplier like Mann Lake.
Available mid April, earlier than locally made queens, but may not be adapted.

Swarm, Bait Box, Trap Out, Colony Removal

Put into a nuc and sold once the queen is laying and has brood.
Sale of swarms is forbidden by KBA Swarm Team Members

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3Lb Packages

What is a 3lb Package w/ Queen

Most common way to start a beehive. Available first in year before nucs.
3lbs of bees shaken from an overwintered hive and given a newly mated queen.
Shipped all over the country, required by law.
Typically will not produce surplus honey unless given drawn combs.
Made in the south, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and shipped north. Allows northern beekeepers to get bees earlier than if made locally.
The quality of the queens can be poor early in the season.
Typically does not perform as well as a nuc.

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Apitherapy: Honey Bee Venom & Sting Therapy

Bee venom has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and may benefit the health of your skin and immune system. It may also improve certain medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain.

Arthritis, chronic pain, skin health
Bee allergy therapy

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Pollination

Bees are temporary moved all over the united states for fruit pollination. Apples, berries, melons, citrus, cucumbers, sunflowers, cherries, pears.

Almond Pollination

The largest migration of bees occurs each february for almond pollination in californian valley.
Over 2 million colonies are brought into the california.
Avg. ~$209/hive

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Beeswax

Wax
Candles
Cosmetics, Soaps
Preservative, Sealants, Water-Proofing
Foundation

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Why Make Your Own Beeswax Candles?

Why clean your own wax?

Make use of the wax cappings and burr comb from your hives. The “Bi-product” of honey production
Avg. 1/lb wax from honey cappings per 75 lb of honey harvested.
Relatively easy, low skill & quick to do. Equipment is inexpensive or you may already have it.
Pure beeswax is expensive $10-20/lb.
Ensure purity. Sources online may be diluted with paraffin or soy wax.

Cons

Need several 1+ year-old honey producing hives to make enough wax to be worth your time and effort. Or accumulate wax over several years.

Why make your own candles?

Value-add revenue source. Candles can sell 1.5-6x more per pound than beeswax.
Pure beeswax candles are expensive and more difficult to find.
Ensure purity. Sources online may be diluted with paraffin or soy wax.
Control of all parameters, scent, shape and size.
Unique gift

Cons

Molds are expensive. If you are making only a few candles it may not be cost or time effective.
Requires some skill and knowledge to make a quality product. Wick, scrents, molds, temperature.

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How to Clean Raw Beeswax (Water Boil Method)

Processing Steps

Water boil method uses hot water as a carrier to melt, clean, and separate the wax. The melted wax water solution is poured thru a filter to remove debri and then allowed to cool, separate and solidify into a block of wax with a thin layer of slum gum on the bottom. The slum gum is scraped off resulting in a clean block of wax

Honeycomb cappings produce the best wax that are light in color and great smell. Brood comb produces dark stinky wax, process separately.
Remove as much honey as possible before processing.
Wash the wax capper with water and remove debri.
Add the washed wax to a pot of boiling water (3:1 wax:water) and stir until all the wax melts and just starts to boil. Do not boil, will eventually discolor wax.
When heating the wax bees will be attracted to the smell.
Pour hot wax and water solution thru filter into a container, bucket.
A tall container is more ideal than a wide container for separation and slum gum removal.
The debri and majority of the slum gum will accumulate in filter.
Let water and wax cool overnight. Avoid moving of mixing while solidifying so slum gum settle
Once the wax has solidified rinse the wax bloc with water
Scrap off slum on the bottom of the wax block. Easier to remove when wax is warm vs cold
Repeat process if wax was very dirty with slum gum

Materials Needed

Water
Beeswax cappings
Heat source (Propane Burner)
Container for melting wax (Metal pot)
Container for solidifying wax (Bucket w/ Lid)
Filter(s) (Bucket Filter or Paint Strainer)
Stir Stick (Wood Stake)

Water

Slum Gum

Wax

Air

container

Wax Water Separation

Slum Gum

Wax

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Types of Candles

Rolled Wax Foundation Candles

Made with wireless wax foundation purchased from bee supply companies
Great for kids, no heat, easiest candle to make

Dipped Candles

Oldest method to make traditional taper candles.
No molds required, most inexpensive

Poured Candles

Resin molds

Allows for almost any shape, of candle. Many options.
Most expensive type of mold

Pillar / Taper Molds

Made out of plastic or metal pipe.
Easy and inexpensive to make the molds yourself

Container

No mold required. Jars, metal tins

Resin Mold

Rolled Foundation

Dipped

Pillar

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How to make your own poured wax candles

Wax

Heat wax in a double boiler to avoid burning or discoloration.
The wax temperature is critical to making a good candle; to avoid shrinkage, cracking, pockets.

145 F Melt Point
155-160 F Pouring (Just skinning over)
185 F Discoloration can occur

Add scent. Take note of flashpoint of oil. Don't add if too hot.
Re-filter wax to ensure there is no debri.
Typically debri and water settles to the bottom of the liquid wax. Stop pouring when the container is almost empty.

Finishing

Let solidly for a few hours, slightly pull on wick, if it moves at all its not ready.
Trim wicks using flush cut side-cutter. The wick should be around ¼- ⅜ inch long.
For molded candles, rub the bottom of the candle on a hot surface to melt, flatten and level the bottom.
As beeswax ages a white bloom of oxidation may appear on the surface of the beeswax. It can be removed by rubbing or heating the candle with a heat gun.

Molds / Container

Warm molds, especially important for jars and containers with thermal mass.
Spray mold release inside molds.

Wicks

The size and type of the wick is determined by the candle diameter and type of wax. Large pillar or jar containers may burn better with multiple wicks instead of 1 large wick.
Test burn a candle to confirm wick size
Pre-dip wicks in wax to stiffen and increase strength
String wicks tight. Use a wick holder across the top of the mold or container. For candle containers use tabs or adhere wicks to the bottom with adhesive holders or hot glue.
Square-braid cotton wick sizing guideline

5/0 - Tealight
4/0 - Tealight
3/0 - 0.8” Taper
2/0 - Votive
1/0 - 0.9” Taper
#1 - 1-1.4” Pillar
#2 - 1.4-1.9” Pillar
#3 - 1.9-2.3” Pillar

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Cosmetics & Soaps

Both cosmetics and soaps must be produced in a licensed commercial facility to be sold.

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Pollen

Perga is bee bread harvested from combs. The combs are frozen and broken to release bee bread.

Bee bread is bioactive and fermented so that protein is digestible. Raw pollen is most indigestible.

Raw pollen granules are harvested directly from bees pollen baskets as the enter the hive.

Special pollen harvesting entrances are put onto the hive. Pollen harvesting should be checked daily

Raw pollen needs to be dried to prevent molding

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What is Propolis (Bee Glue)?

Propolis or bee glue is a resinous mixture that honey bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with exudate gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources.
Collected in large amounts during summer thru fall.
The amount of propolis, composition and color is dependent on the fauna/region and bee genetics. Some genetics will gather more propolis than others.
Brittle & hard below 66F, extremely sticky when warm
Propolis will eventually cover everything you own. You will find it in your house on your closes car etc.

Used primary to protect the hive

Antifungal and antibacterial
Fill in cracks, holes, spaces they cannot access. Reduce hiding spots for insects. Areas smaller than bee space.
To seal larger holes cracks for weather or defensibility.
Provide water resistance
Reduce airflow, increase moisture
Encapsulate things they cannot remove from the hive. Dead animals
Seal rotting or loose wood.
Build corrals for hive beetles

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Propolis Pictures

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Propolis production

Scrapings from Woodenware

Scraped with a hive tool and collected over time.
Frame rests, top bars and box mating surfaces
Lower grade product, contains debri, paint, wood.

Propolis Screens

Similar to a queen excluder but the slits are smaller than beespace which prompts the bees to fill-in the slits with propolis.
Screens are frozen and twisted to remove propolis quickly.
Small niche market.

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Royal Jelly

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What is royal jelly?

Royal Jelly is (wikipedia)

Royal jelly is a honey bee secretion that is used in the nutrition of larvae and adult queens.It is secreted from the glands in the hypopharynx of nurse bees, and fed to all larvae in the colony, regardless of sex or caste. Queen larva in a cell on a frame with bees. During the process of creating new queens, the workers construct special queen cells. The larvae in these cells are fed with copious amounts of royal jelly. This type of feeding triggers the development of queen morphology, including the fully developed ovaries needed to lay eggs.

Royal jelly is

67% water
12.5% protein
11% simple sugars (monosaccharides)
6% fatty acids
3.5% 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA).
It also contains trace minerals, antibacterial and antibiotic components, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and trace amounts of vitamin C,but none of the fat-soluble vitamins

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Royal Jelly Production

Popular in Asia, not a large market in US. Cannot be easily found.
Used as a supplement in food, medicine and cosmetics
Similar process to making queen cells. Eggs are grafted into cups and put into a strong well-fed queenless hive.
Special made reusable queen cups bars are used

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