HIVE OF INDUSTRY

Honey bees are some of humanity’s oldest companions, and they provide us with so much more than delicious honey. What could be sweeter than that?

Honey bees provide us with so much more than delicious honey.

Keeping the bees

The art of maintaining bee colonies in man-made hives, beekeeping (or apiculture) is a human endeavour that stretches back to antiquity. Ancient Egyptian art depicts the domestication of bees from around 4,500 years ago, and the oldest archaeological evidence dates back to the Bronze or Iron ages in the Middle East. Once practiced primarily for the sweet reward of honey, modern-day beekeeping efforts are largely directed toward the pollination of crops. Some beekeepers even carry their hives over long distances on tractortrailers to pollinate various plants.

Honey how-to

Honey is derived from the nectar of blossoms and secretions of living plants, collected and refined by honey bees inside the hive. The bees fan their wings over the nectar held in open beeswax combs, circulating fresh air and removing moisture. Once the nectar is reduced and transformed into honey, each of the honeycomb’s cells is capped and stored for the over-winter period (or for the beekeeper’s harvest). In her entire lifetime, a single worker bee will gather only 0.8 grams of honey; the colony as a whole, however, might produce more than 135 kilograms of extra honey the beekeeper can harvest!

Hometown harvest

Renowned for its delicious, mild flavour, Canadian honey is exported around the world. Collectively, the Prairies account for nearly 70 percent of Canada’s total number of bee colonies and over threequarters of the total honey production. More than half of all Canadian beekeepers are located in Ontario and British Columbia, where the bees are valued more for pollination than honey production. Backyard beekeeping has seen a rise in popularity across the country in recent years—but before you decide to dip your toe in the honey, as it were, check your local rules and regulations.

The average honey harvest per hive in Canada is around 60 kilograms, which is more than twice the global average. This is due in part to our long summer days and vast fields of nectar-producing crops like canola. Honey’s composition,

In her entire lifetime, a single worker bee will gather only about 0.8 grams of honey: the colony as a whole, however, may produce abut 135 kilograms.

taste and colour vary according to the flower source, geographical area and climate—pollen grains found in honey are traceable back to the floral source and region of origin. One of Canada’s most recognizable types of honey is creamed clover honey.

Honey bees, though, contribute more to our taste buds and bellies than just delicious honey. Pollination is a necessary process in the growth of many of the fruits and vegetables required for a healthy diet. It’s estimated that honey bee pollination services provide human beings with about one-third of all food consumed. It’s the real money-maker, too: The economic contribution of honey bee pollination services is estimated to be between $4 and $5.5 billion in Canada every year, which is considerably more than the value of just honey. It’s worth noting that honey bees aren’t the only creatures that contribute to this worthy endeavour. Hundreds of native bee populations help pollinate crops across the country, including managed populations of native bumble bees that are essential to the pollination of greenhouse tomatoes.

Sweet syrup

Honey is made up of about 180 different compounds, including water, sugars, free amino acids, proteins, enzymes, essential minerals, vitamins and various phytochemicals. This incredible natural substance possesses anti-inflammatory,