The Wonders of Bee Venom

Eros stung by a bee
Ran away and cried for plea:
Venus, mother, I cry,
Please help me or I'll die.
What a terrible disgrace
A dragon bit me on the face.
Venus, comforting her son
Speaking with a mocking fun - The little bee's tiny sting
Is for you an earnest thing
But far more painful and real hard
Are your stings in human's heart

from Anacreontean songs, 6 BC
Reprinted from Bee Venom: Composition, Health, Medicine: A Review


Apart from the obvious useful products that we get from bees such as honey, bee venom may also have great therepeutic value. Apitherapy is a medical term which encompasses the medical use of all honey bee products, and this can include honey, pollen, bee bread, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. Apitherapy dates back thousands of years to Ancient Egypt, Greece and China, and the healing properties of honey are mentioned in ancient religious texts including the Bible, Quaran, Vedas and Ancient Greek writings. Although less is written of the use of bee venom in the ancient world, bee sting therapy is mentioned in Huandi Neijing, an ancient Chinese medical book, dating to around 500 BCE, and by Aristoteles in his Historia Animalia around 300 BCE. Hippocrates also used bee venom for therapeutic purposes, calling it Arcanum, a mysterious substance, who's healig properties he didn't fully understand. Pliny, the Elder, in his Natural History, prescribed honey and bee venom as a cure for baldness, and Charlemagne (742-814 CE) reputedly used bee stings to treat his gout. Monfat (1566-1634) is reported to have used bee stings against kidney stones and to improve the flow of urine. The use of bee venom in Shamanic ceremonies is also likely. The modern study of bee venom healing was, according to Wikipedia and a number of other sources, initiated by an Austrian Physician Phillip Terc, who published a document entitled Report About a Peculiar Connection Between the Bee Stings and Rheumatism, in 1888. Bee venom has also been used in homeopathy and in 1858 C.W. Wolfe discussed it in his book Apis Mellifica or the Poison of the Honey Bee Considered as a Therepeutic Agent. In homeopathic preparations, whole bees are used in different potencies. Although I certainly wouldn't aprove of killing bees to make medicine out of them, perhaps the "natural wastage" of dead bees that can be found around a hive, ones that have come to the ends of their lives naturally, could be used in medicine.
Bee venom is thought to be good for arthritis, rheumatism, bursitis, tendonitis, dissolving scar tissue, herpes zoster and a number of other conditions. Bee venom is a complex composition of enzymes, proteins and amino acids, which stimulates the release of cortisone. It can be applied directly or by intramuscular injections. It is hemorrhagic, unlike snake venom which is coagulant, and contains substances which have the opposing functions of stimulating the heart and adrenal glands and inhibiting the nervous system. It also contains antibiotics and sulphur, which is the main ingredient in inducing the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands and in protecting the body against infection. The most powerful ingredient however is thought to be melittin, which has powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antiviral actions. Bee venom therapists apply bee venom to specific points on the surface of the body. Applying bee venom topically has been found in many cases to provide a long lasting effect in helping rheumatism and arthritis.
More can be found on the healing properties of bee venom in the illustrated online Bee Venom Books

I also found this on the Internet - Cosmetics made with Bee Venom, Natures answer to Botox apparantly.







Bee Venom Therapy: Bee Venom, Its Nature and Its Effect on Arthritic and Rheumatoid Conditions

Warre Hives

Well my Warre Hives finally arrived, which I ordered from a company in Austria back in April. I had given up on them as I had heard nothing since placing my order, and they had not replied to several emails enquiring about the hives. So in the meantime I ordered a Cornish Topbar Hive from another source (which is also taking forever to arrive, due to the delivery company losing it!). Then suddenly I had an email from the company on Austria telling me my warre hives were ready and requesting payment! They arrived within a few days of making the payment. Both are made of untreated Spruce (Cedar is better, but twice the price), and I now have the task of coating them with a mix of beeswax and linseed oil.

One hive has observation windows, the other doesn't. Neither have a varroa mesh at the bottom but have solid floors, so I'm not sure what to do about that. I need to do a bit more research and maybe post some questions on the Natural Beekeeping forum. I'm also not sure about how many coats of linseed oil and beeswax will be needed (quite a few I should imagine), how long it will take to dry (ages!) and what proportions of beeswax to linseed oil should be used for the best results. I have used 1 smallish disc of beeswax from a craft shop, melted into 500 ml of linseed oil.

I also accidentally received a Queen bee a couple of days ago, but unfortunately I had to send her back, as without a colony of workers to look after her, she wouldn't survive. I had sent a deposit to the Glocester company to reserve me a package of bees for next Spring, and they misunderstood, and sent me a queen instead. I couldn't immediately find anyone who might want her, or obtain some bees to form a colony with her, and couldn't really hang about waiting to find some in case she didn't survive, so had to return her quickly. I hope she got back safely. I'm hoping that the Cornwall company will have a topbar nuc ready for me in a few weeks though, and that my cornish topbar hive will have arrived by then. Although I could of course put the nuc into a warre hive. The topbars may not be quite the right size though. In the meantime, I also need to clear the land and level the ground sufficiently to place the beehives.