By Joshua Kato
A sting from a bee hurts extremely, but the venom that the bee releases into your body has numerous benefits if received in moderation.
Beekeeper and expert Stephen Kunihira explains that bee venom, though poisonous, has positive effects like stabilising Acquired Immune Deficiency (AIDS) and diabetes, enhancing sexual desire, and strengthening immunity when used in moderation.
Bee venom
Bee venom is harvested using an electric extractor, according to Angel Moses Kuteesa, owner of Bee Farmers Crib, a commercial enterprise.
“Once you turn on the venom extractor, it vibrates, which makes the bees curious as they think there are other bees outside. When they land on the extractor, they are shocked which makes sting the extractor, leaving the venom on the surface,” Kuteesa explained.
However, Kunihira warned against excessive exposure to bee stings because it may turn poisonous.
According to Kuteesa, bee venom is harvested using an electric venom extractor that vibrates, catching the attention of the bees. A bee venom collector costs between US$1,500 to US$2,000 or sh5m to sh7m.
A set of 10 hives can produce at least one gram of venom every month.
On the local market, a gram of bee venom costs sh150,000 to sh200,000, while on the international market, each gramme costs $50 to $100.
However, unlike incidences when they sting soft surfaces and lose their stings before dying, the extractor has a hard surface and thus their stings cannot penetrate it. The bees do not lose their stings and do not die.
According to Kuteesa and Kunihira, there are different places one can collect bee venom from:
-Placing the venom collector panel at the entrance of the hive is the most efficient way. This method ensures that the collecting panels will be attacked by the bees as they leave and return to the hive as well as those protecting the hive.
-Placing the panel on the top of honey frames, which is the least efficient way because the few bees will attack the bee venom collector.
-At the bottom of the brood chamber, which results in one collecting foreign material mixed with bee venom (pollen, nectar, honey, dead bees and other impurities). These foreign materials change the composition of bee venom as they degrade its physiological activity.
-In the hive, as a frame replacement, this could be a very efficient way of collecting bee venom if you collect it by night and close the hive (trap all the bees inside the hive). However, collecting during the night might be extremely tricky as the bees are more agitated at that time than during the night, so they are more likely to sting you and die.
-You could set up everything the day before and turn on the collectors during the night, but if you leave the collected venom overnight in the hive, it might oxidate and lose quality, which means a lower price if you are selling the venom.
Bee venom is a colourless fluid, but it becomes a white powder after drying. Remove it from the glass plate with a scraper as soon as possible and store it in a dark glass jar. If you don’t, it will oxidate, and the colour will change to dark yellow. A good way to store it would be putting bee venom in a freezer.
Noteworthy is that freeze-drying is probably the most effective method of preserving bee venom. The better and sooner it is stored well, the more active ingredients it will retain and the better price on the market. The pharmaceutical industry prefers the high-quality bee venom, while the beauty industry goes for cheaper bee venom.
Alice Kangave, a beekeeper and retired epidemiologist says that beyond honey and venom, there are several other products from bees and these include:
Propolis
This is the sticky black and brown resinous material that bees collect from plants, which is used to seal holes in their hives. It has a lot of medicinal elements including treating ulcers, viral and bacterial infections as well as a pain reliever for toothaches.
Beeswax
Kangave explains that beeswax is the second highest valuable bee product after honey. It has various uses, that is, making candles and as a base for shoe polish and cosmetics.
From every 20kg of honey harvested, a farmer retrieves around 500g of beeswax. In 2024, a kilo of beeswax went for between sh15,000-sh35,000. Cosmetics processing companies buy it.
Equipment for collecting beeswax
– A large container of approximately 5 litres
– A sheet of nylon mosquito mesh
– A strong nylon cord and a needle
– A plastic or polyethene cover
Procedure:
– Fasten a mosquito mesh over the container with the nylon cord.
– Place honeycombs on the mesh for the honey to trickle into the container.
-Cover the honeycombs and container with a plastic sheet and secure it fast to the container with another cord.
-Leave the honey and container in the sun. Both honey and wax will sip down into the container. There is a material that will harden above the honey and can be removed when the honey cools down to be bottled.
Moulding beeswax
Kangave explains that beeswax collected should be moulded in the following manner:
– Use a container with a rounded bottom and a mouth wider than the bottom with a very smooth inner surface. Many plastic containers are suitable.
-Place a small quantity of water (about a tablespoonful) in a cooking pot and put on the fire.
Do not melt beeswax in a dry container. It should not be exposed to fire because it burns easily and can be damaged by high heat. Melt beeswax and bee combs outdoors.
-Add all the beeswax and watch carefully as wax melts down. Remove it from the fire immediately after the last lump of wax has melted.
– Pour melted beeswax into the mould and place in a dry place to cool.
– Remove the cakes of beeswax the next morning.
-The dark material collected at the bottom can be removed with a knife and can be sold to a shoemaker. The clean raw beeswax is ready for the market.
Pollen
According to Kangave, during their hundreds of visits to flowers, bees collect a lot of pollen. They then keep this in the hives as part of their food.
“It can be harvested from the hives and then processed for human usage including in medicines. It contains high protein levels, it is a proven anti-biotic, antioxidant etc, pollen is extracted. Processed medicinal bee products carry directions of usage on their packaging,” she explains.
