The Sweetness of Bees

While in the kitchen last night preparing dinner, I read an email from Avaaz.org about the peril of the bee population and a cry for a global ban of one group of pesticides that could save bees from extinction (Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere). So I thought you all might be interested in what the Bee means to the Gifts From the Earth product line.  Bees provide our company with beeswax and honey granules (dried honey). These are 2 very essential ingredients in almost all of our products.

Beeswax

Beeswax is produced by the (female) worker honeybees. The wax is secreted from wax glands on the underside of the bee's abdomen and is molded into six-sided cells which are filled with honey, then capped with more wax. When honey is harvested, the top layer of wax that covers the cells, or the cappings, must be removed from each hexagon-shaped cell. Just to put it into perspective, one pound of wax requires the bees to consume about ten pounds of honey!

Beeswax works well in cosmetic products because of the “wax esthers” that exist in both beeswax and human skin and it is these compounds which help to bind and emulsify ointments, lipsticks and lotions. As a natural hydrating ingredient that increases essential moisture in skin, we use it in all of our creams and lotions to help retain natural skin moisture and in the relief of itching from sensitive skin.

Beeswax has an irritation potential of zero, and a comedogenicity rating of 0 - 2, which means that when formulated and used correctly in cosmetic formulations, beeswax will not cause a problem or clog the pores, but brings a host of very positive attributes, such as general healing and softening, as an antiseptic, and an emollient to cosmetic products. It contains elasticity and provides greater permanence on skin or lip surfaces.


Even after processing, it still remains a biologically active product, retaining some anti-bacterial properties and also contains some vitamin A, which is necessary for normal cell development.

Beeswax locks in moisture, fosters cells and protects skin from damaging environmental factors. It is a naturally nourishing moisturizer as well as being anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-allergenic and a germicidal antioxidant." According to Botanical.com, "Even after processing, beeswax still remains a biologically active product, retaining some anti-bacterial properties and also contains some vitamin A, which is necessary for normal cell development." In folk medicine beeswax was used as an anticeptic for wound healing and beeswax ear candles were used for ear wax removal. They are believed to be able to heal ear infection and improve hearing by removing the wax inside the ear.


Honey

Honeybees use nectar to make honey. Nectar is almost 80% water with some complex sugars. In fact, if you have ever pulled a honeysuckle blossom out of its stem, nectar is the clear liquid that drops from the end of the blossom. In North America, bees get nectar from flowers like clovers, dandelions, berry bushes and fruit tree blossoms. They use their long, tubelike tongues like straws to suck the nectar out of the flowers and they store it in their "honey stomachs". Bees actually have two stomachs, their honey stomach which they use like a nectar backpack and their regular stomach. The honey stomach holds almost 70 mg of nectar and when full, it weighs almost as much as the bee does. Honeybees must visit between 100 and 1500 flowers in order to fill their honeystomachs.


The honeybees return to the hive and pass the nectar onto other worker bees. These bees suck the nectar from the honeybee's stomach through their mouths. These "house bees" "chew" the nectar for about half an hour. During this time, enzymes are breaking the complex sugars in the nectar into simple sugars so that it is both more digestible for the bees and less likely to be attacked by bacteria while it is stored within the hive. The bees then spread the nectar throughout the honeycombs where water evaporates from it, making it a thicker syrup. The bees make the nectar dry even faster by fanning it with their wings. Once the honey is gooey enough, the bees seal off the cell of the honeycomb with a plug of wax. The honey is stored until it is eaten. In one year, a colony of bees eats between 120 and 200 pounds of honey.

Honey is said to be a natural antiseptic due to its tendency to absorb the life-sustaining moisture out of bacterial cell walls. As such, we include it in our Mystic Seeds Scrub. Honey attracts the dirt from skin pores and dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. Which makes it a natural skin cleanser and softener.

I depend on these amazing little honeybees to provide my company with ingredients that make our products superior.  Besides what they do for me, the honeybee is a major component in our food system. We have no time to lose -- a recent study shows 96% of our four main bee species have been wiped out. Let’s build a buzz across the nation calling on the EPA to outlaw these killer chemicals and save our bees and our food. Sign the emergency petition now and send it on to everyone and we’ll deliver it to the top decision makers:

SAVE THE BEES

Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations and scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But increasingly, independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the main manufacturer Bayer is based, have banned one of these bee killers. But, Bayer continues to export its poison across the world, and the US is one of its biggest markets.

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on.



Thanks for taking the time to care...it is so important to our future!

SAVE THE BEES NOW!

Marianne Wilson Stein