Collecting propolis

[Neils]

Just wondering if anyone bothers to collect it. I have a colony that propolises everything. I wear latex/nitrile gloves generally, but I absolutely need them for this colony, they cover everything in the stuff.

I've generally tried to keep things simple in my beekeeping, but I'm starting to think that with this hive it might actually be worth trying to collect the stuff. Not that I actually have a freezer big enough to stick a sheet of the stuff into.

What do people think, worth the effort?

[Trog]

I was pondering the same thing with daughter as one colony is really into propolising. We do have the freezer space though it might end up smelling slightly of mackerel!

[Neils]

I wouldn't bet on it. I've been cooking this evening including fish and judicious use of lemons and my hands still smell of bees/propolis

[Calum]

I love the smell of it!
It makes a great schnapps I add it to a bottle of williams schnapps (40%) or really good vodka, shake well every day for 3-6 months and you have something that tastes interesting but will sort out a sore throat in a jiffy.

Also dissolved in spiritus and painted on the inside of a new wooden hive makes the bees feel much more at home (so I am told- seems to work too), some people leave these painted empty hives open as swarm baits - though that is illegal here in Germany.

[Adam]

I've got a lump of it on the windowcill in the garage - not sure what to do with it. A couple of my hives produce loads of it too. You can see it in the pollen baskets as they fly in.
Gloves get goopy and need changing afterwards - especially if the next task is clipping a queen.

[The Drone Ranger]

On the gloves subject lots of people can't get on with latex gloves or the powder and end up using the blue nitrile type which are pretty hopeless.
www.justgloves.co.uk have lots of different types including synthetics

[Neils]

Our local chemists sells the unpowdered latex ones, must admit that they aren't great and longer sleeves would be nicer, I'm just disorganised when it comes to remembering to order gloves online :d

[gavin]

I'd love to see powered ones in action (sorry Nellie, couldn't resist). Great site DL, a fraction of the price I've been paying at B&Q.

[Neils]

No-one likes a smart arse :p

[Jon]

On the gloves subject lots of people can't get on with latex gloves or the powder and end up using the blue nitrile type which are pretty hopeless.

I never use anything other than blue nitriles unless I am using bare hands. If they get propolised I just chuck them away and put on another pair. I can get through three pairs in an afternoon, best part of 30 pence.

[tonybloke]

blue nitrile for me as well, only £6 a hundred from local auto workshop suppliers

[jhonnylewis]

Guys i have found this and i am sure you guys will also find this usefull . See this site Latex Gloves (http://www.topgeargloves.co.uk/) , i see they have many varieties to choose from , and you will notice the price is also reasonable..

[Calum]

I use the blue trawlermans gloves.
Sting proof, chemical resistant, and great feeling... One pair will do a whole season.
To get the propolis of I turn them inside out and put them in the freezer.
Works a treat.

[Neils]

I decided to have a go at collecting propolis this season so I ordered 12 propolis screens from thornes on the basis I could take one off and immediately replace it.

Must admit I was expecting something more solid than what eventually turned up:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7078/7085430831_65f8ce5144_b.jpg

So do I leave the crown boards off when I've got one of these on I wonder? Will they propolise it at the top of a (hopefully) stack of supers?

[chris]

So do I leave the crown boards off when I've got one of these on I wonder?

If you do, you could end up with the screen stuck to the roof.Depends on the space between the frames and the top of the box. I would put it on top of the frames, and then the crown board *upside down*.As for the stack of supers, the best time to put the propolis mesh is after the harvest.

[gavin]

Hi Chris

Do you have top or bottom space beehives? I'm guessing top space so that your inverted crown board gives a larger than normal space. Maybe not. Nellies are Nationals I think, so he will have bottom space hives and a crownboard which normally sits with its space underneath.

When I've used a mesh travel screen for the move to the heather instead of a crownboard (affixed with drawing pins) and left it on (by mistake or because the bees were too riled) they tend to try to glue up the mesh.

G.

[Neils]

Yep, I'm bottom bee space on all my stuff. Useful info, thanks, I'll have a play and see what happens. I hadn't seriously thought that I should leave the crown board off, but sometimes you have to ask :)

[Mellifera Crofter]

Must admit I was expecting something more solid than what eventually turned up:

So what did turn up - a bit of ordinary fibreglass mesh? I've got a few scraps of fibreglass mesh. Can I use that?
Kitta

[Neils]

Pretty much, it just unfolds into a national sized square of mesh. I guess bee-lore should apply (Greater than beespace wax it up, smaller than beespace propolise it).

[chris]

Kitta, you can even use a piece of plastic mosquito netting. What is important, is that it is not rigid, otherwise when you take it out of the fridge/freezer, you won't be able to bend it to *snap* the propolis.

Gavin, I suspect that I have both top and bottom bee space on my Dadants, but then I have no idea what it means :o About a finger's width between the floor and frame bottoms, and the same between the top of the frames and the bottom of the crown board. But the crown board has 2cm battens around the sides on the other surface, so flipping it over gives extra non propolisable space.

[gavin]

That probably means top bee space. In a BS National the frame tops are flush with the rims of the box and there is more space underneath the frames. Crownboards have wooden strips around the edge and these go on the lower surface of the board so that there is a bee space above the frame tops.

Place a top bee space feeder on a bottom space box of bees (as I did last year) and there is an unpleasant crunching sound!

Smiths are the second most popular hive type amongst locals (some, including our biggest bee farmer locally, have Langstroths). They all have a gap between the frame tops and the rim of the box, and take flush crownboards (with the edging on the top side).

[Bumble]

Maybe a piece of charity shop net curtain, pinned onto some battens, would be as effective?

We've tried dropping half a teaspoonful of propolis into a bottle of cheap vodka, it's an acquired taste. What else can it can be used for?

[chris]

I think maybe the net curtain will be too flimsy to easily extract the propolis.

I always give the propolis to my son in law who uses it in magic potions for healing animals in accordance with organic husbandry methods.

[chris]

I've just been reading an article which tells how beekeepers in Mendoza, Argentina used propolis to fight AFB, and in doing so found it also an effective treatment against varroa.Apparently, they have since treated tens of thousands of hives with good results.
200g of propolis in alcohol 96° (sic) though certain claim 70° to be better. Leave it to macerate,filter, and then incorporate it at 10% in sugar syrup. Give them 6ml. per frame.The dose of propolis must not be increased, as it inhibits the queen's laying.At the given dose, it stimulates her.
Of course, some could say "who needs another anti varroa treatment?"

[gavin]

A friend has followed Drone Ranger's advice (via an intermediary) and used kitchen sponges with a thymol-spirit concoction and those hives made propolis which had a funny colour and wasn't glossy or red. Gummy yucky stuff, pretty sure that it has a high content of that artificial sponge stuff. Mine make different colours and consistencies of propolis. And now we've speculation in the Today's News (http://www.sbai.org.uk/sbai_forum/showthread.php?453-todays-news/page61) thread that they are gathering opium sap. Didn't I read somewhere that they sometimes gathered tar from the roads?

Do you propolis users select only stuff that looks like the best quality resin?

[chris]

Personally, I only collect a bit, and just grab what the bees give.The only difference I notice is that *the hotter the gooeyer* but I don't have the observation capacity of a trained scientist.:p
Seriously though, if you are interested in propolis *types* and some of its uses, this site may be interesting

http://www.apitherapie.ch/files/files/Propolis/PropolisBookReview.pdf

[GRIZZLY]

I've had tar from roads,mastic fron shed roofs, green tarry stuff from roofing felt and fresh putty from newly glazed windos.I don't think I would like to chew any of that or mix it with alchohol.Horrible mess to clean from hives and frames.Did a good job of mummifying a mouse tho'.

[Calum]

Hi
mixed with alchohol it makes a great coating for the insides of new magazines - shook swarms take to a familiar smell like home much better apparently.

[chris]

FAHMY, F G ; OMAR, M O M (1988) Effect of propolis extracts on certain potato viruses. Fourth International Congress on Agriculture in Tropical Climates, Cairo, Egypt: 6-10

Can't get much higher than

[gavin]

LOL!

OK, propolis is useful stuff, but bees haven't read the various organic standards handbooks. I'd be cautious about how you manage hives for propolis production and how you select only the best stuff for harvest.

G.

[chris]

I'd be cautious about how you manage hives for propolis production and how you select only the best stuff for harvest.
G.

In France, a beekeeper can only sell propolis or a propolis solution to the public if he has a special licence. Otherwise it must be conditioned and commercialised by a pharmaceutic or veterinary company. Probably the same in Scotland?

[gavin]

I'm not aware of any particular regulations on propolis. Of course, if it is sold to the public with hints of health benefits there is likely to be legal trouble.