The Benevolent Bee: Capture the Bounty of the Hive through Science, History, Home Remedies, and Craft - Includes recipes and techniques for honey, beeswax, propolis, royal jelly, pollen, and bee venom

by Stephanie Bruneau

In The Benevolent Bee, beekeeper and herbalist Stephanie Bruneau explores the uses of six products of the  beehive: honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax, and bee venom.

Not all new beekeepers realize that a honeybee hive produces a lot more than just honey. While your hard working ladies will produce delicious honey, the hive as a whole also produces pollen, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax, and bee venom; all very useful things for humans, if we know how to use them.

The Benevolent Bee describes how and why the bees make these products, how they've been used by humans throughout the ages, and how beekeepers can harvest the products. It also presents simple do-it yourself recipes for using the products in health and wellness, body care, nutrition, and craft.

You'll learn how to make salves for burns and a cough syrup from raw honey; how to make a tincture, an infused oil, and a mouthwash from propolis, the anti-bacterial "bee glue" that lines the inside of the hive; and much more. Get crafting now, it's all already in your hive!

• ISBN13: 9781631592867
• Publish Date: 20 July 2017 (first published 15 July 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 30 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Quarry Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 160
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

I love bees. I'm a passionate gardener and beekeeper. I also live on planet earth. I'm saddened and terrified in about equal measure at what we humans are doing to our planet and environment.
I'm a bee missionary and spread the good word about bees and beekeeping to anyone I meet.

The author of this book 'gets it'. Hopefully without sounding completely 'woowoo', I really loved this book's vibe and that she backs up her statements with good reliable sources. Yes, she's enthusiastic about bees and protecting and nurturing them (we all should be), but she backs up her statements with reliable checkable facts.

The book itself is beautifully photographed and has a logical layout. There are 6 main sections about the main bee products: propolis, pollen, honey, royal jelly, bee venom (yes, really!) and beeswax.

Each of the main categories has supporting information which includes a description, historical background, harvesting methods, scientific properties and information, and followed by projects and recipes for each item (with the exception of the bee venom section, there aren't exactly projects for that).

The book is full of lovely clear macro photography of bees and bee products and the prose is beautifully written. This book could have been deadly dull and dry....it's not. She somehow manages to write wonderfully clearly and her enthusiasm for her subject shines through.

There is a reference/supply section at the end of the book which is comprehensive, though (obviously) slanted toward American beekeepers.
The bibliography and index are well laid out, logical and seem to be complete.

I read an ARC/galley and despite that, the formatting was perfect and I didn't find a single editing mistake.

Really superlative book which I intend to buy for my not-yet-beekeeping friends.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.