What do honey bees produce, besides honey?

The youngest bees cluster in large numbers to raise their body temperature. Wax-producing glands under their abdomens slowly secrete slivers of wax about the size of a pinhead. Other worker bees harvest these wax scales and take them to the part of the hive requiring the new wax. Bees use about 6 lb of honey to produce 1 lb of wax.

Bee bread

'Edible grade' pollen or 'bee bread' is a mixture of plant pollen and honey, which bees mould into granules and store in their honeycombs. Plant pollen can make you sneeze and have a runny nose and eyes if you are allergic to it, but people eat bee bread to help try and stop this.

Many Olympic athletes eat bee bread in a bid to strengthen their immune system, increases oxygen intake, boosts performance and helps them recover quicker after training.

Mead

Before people discovered how to brew beer and make wine, they fermented honey with water and yeast to make the first alcoholic drink - mead. Some people call it the 'Nectar of the Gods'. Others think it tasted like cough mixture, which may have to do with the honeys healing properties.

Propolis

Propolis or bee glue is a resinous mixture that honey bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with exudate gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. Propolis is used for small gaps, while larger spaces are usually filled with beeswax. Its colour varies depending on its botanical source, the most common being dark brown. Propolis is sticky at, and above, room temperature. At lower temperatures, it becomes hard and very brittle.

Propolis also has great medicinal qualities and can be added to alcohol to make tinctures to treat various ailments. 

Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is the food fed to queen bee larvae. It is a creamy white colour and is very rich in proteins and fatty acids. It is produced by the mouth glands in young bees. Each queen needs only a teaspoon of royal jelly to thrive.