Essential Oils and Healthy Honey Bees
by Nina Friscia
Information from Nees Bees
If you like to eat, you like bees. Seventy percent of the crops that make up most of the world’s food supply rely on bees for pollination. But bees are in trouble, so beekeepers are finding ways to improve the health of their bees. Some are using certain essential oils to boost vitality.
Essential oils are strongly scented oils made by the distillation of plant materials. Most people are familiar with lavender, rosemary, peppermint, pine, clove, lemon and similar intensive odors used in cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products. Tea tree oil, lemon grass and eucalyptus oil are gaining recognition as beneficial essential oils as well. Now, a commercial product called Honey B-Healthy, made from spearmint and lemongrass essential oils mixed with water and an emulsifier like lecithin, is used as a vitamin for bees. It can be added to sugar water each time bees are fed during the spring and fall.
As with many herbal remedies, its benefits are so far known from anecdotal evidence. Claims are that Honey B- Healthy increases the overall health of the colony, and there are indications that this “vitamin for bees” increases the size of colonies. The phytochemicals in the two oils are a supplement to all the other nutrients that bees get from pollen. Essential oils are also being used to treat the parasitic Varroa mite. Infestation of this pest may be one of the factors contributing to colony collapse disorder.
Essential oils are also used to aid in the control of Nosema, a parasitic disease that affects the digestive track of honey bees. These oils are also used as mold inhibitors in sugar syrup and as a feeding stimulant. Lemon grass oil can be used as a lure when trapping swarms, because it mimics the attractant pheromone created by the honeybee’s nasonov gland.
Unfortunately, this oil can draw inadvertent attention to the hive. Some beekeepers have observed that it can cause robbing behavior from unwanted neighboring beehives.
Oils a beekeeper should stay away from are patchouli, anise, rosemary and tea tree oil. These oils should not be introduced to the hive.
FUN FACTS ABOUT BEES FROM THE RODALE HONEYBEE CONSERVANCY
• Bees are the only insects that produce food eaten by humans.
• Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water.
• The average American eats about one pound of honey a year.
• To make one pound of honey, worker bees fly 55,000 miles and tap two million flowers.
• The honeybee’s wings make about 200 beats per second, creating their infamous buzzing.
• More than 70 of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food are pollinated by bees.
• U.S. honeybees’ economic contribution is valued at nearly $15 billion.
• Blueberries and cherries are 90-percent dependent on honeybee pollination.
• Almonds depend entirely on the honeybee for pollination.
