# Propolis trapping



## guatebee (Nov 15, 2004)

I know that making a profit from the bees is not everyone´s concern in this forum. However, making enough money from sales to cover expenses ought to be a goal. 

Two days ago I received a call from a chemical industry requesting info on where to buy 500 kg of pure propolis. Not being a producer myself, I started contacting beekeepers and not one showed any interest. Some said they didn´t have the time, some said they didn´t know how to produce propolis.

Well, this got me thinking that perhaps there is a chance for making some money teaching people how to harvest propolis. I am designing a short course (one day) and need some input to motivate beekeepers. So, I ask you all this: has anyone trapped any propolis? Was it hard work? Was it worth it? How much did your colonies gather in a period of time? Did you have a hard time selling it?

These questions are intended to let local beekeepers know how others have dealt with propolis. Any input will be greatly appreciated.


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

i dont believe bees gather propolus rather they gather materials and "make" it like honey in a way. so its not purely a matter of trapping. the raw material must bee available(like pollen) and they must percieve a need for it to produce it (like wax). subtle critters,these bees. good luck,mike


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Mike,
I'm going to re-read your comment a few times and think about your post.

The easiest way to "trap" propolis is to use propolis traps. They are designed for the bees to plug up a device similar to a queen excluder but with smaller openings. This is installed on the top of the hive and the lid is cracked enough for light to penetrate the hive. The bees will seal the opening in attempts to block out the light. It is very tedious and you get maybe something around a quarter cup of propolis at a time if your lucky. I have used the trap but without a high priced outlet, it seems about the hardest way to make a dollar with bees. I think you could probably collect it about once a week with such traps.

I do collect propolis as I come across it in the every day chores of beekeeping. If it's a nice size chunk worthy of scraping off, I'll throw it into a jar. I have sold a half pound jar on ebay for, if I remember, something like 15 dollars. But for the effort, it should go for a hundred... 

Propolis, from what I know is collected "pure". The bees collect it and store it in their pollen baskets. So unless they are mixing with enzymes (spit), I'm not sure how they "process" or "produce" it. Mike, what are you saying they are doing to it, by suggesting they "make it"?


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

well Bjorn im flattered that you read my comments. im not a chemist or a biologist but it is my belief that the bees gather it like pollen an process it very nearly exactly like honry - manipulated, enzimes added, and concentrated. it has been my observation that different strains produce remarkably different products. some make it hard as glass, some make it like rubber , some make a little, some a lot. subtle critters


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Mike,
The reason I'm asking is that I agree with the different types you mention. Some are rock hard amber to red, and are the best smelling. Other propolis seems a lighter shades, and more pliable, almost like it has wax mixed in. I often wondered if it's they different trees the bees collect from, or is this purely from manipulation on the bees part.

I also wondered where the anti-bacterial properties came from. Is in the collected propolis or is this from the bees adding to it? I don't know.

What a great research item. Testing cuaght propolis coming into the hive, and comparing it to propolis once used in the hive. And do they manipulate and make it (if they do that at all) more anti-bacterial with other properties, based on what they use it for?

I will say, that it seems some hives have large amounts of propolis. More than what you would think they need. Just big chunks here and there. Are they storing it, like honey and pollen, to be used later? I have thought so. But have never read anything suggesting it. 


It seems that propolis collected from traps and used solely for the use of sealing cracks, is normally the harder crystal type propolis that comes in the amber and red colors. It seems the propolis used on the side of the end bars, mixed in with occasional type type constructed propolis, and that between the frames are where the "mix" comes in. Is this from long term rubbing/breaking/damaging of the propolis by hive inspections and the bees attempt to re-manipulate it back to something useful?

I will say, that in watching bees carry propolis into the hive, its almost always a amber/red color. Never seen anything that much varied from the "pure" form that you get from the traps. So maybe the bees work it and reconstitute it into a form they can use or manipulate throughout the year as they need to fix this or that. So maybe in this reuse and liquefying It and resealing, over a number of times, do we get different "types" as we see in the hive. 

It seems that they may also use it to strengthen wax. I sometimes have propolis that I have to think to myself "Is this wax or propolis?"

I think that it goes beyond some traditional comments and thoughts. It will be one of those things a hundred years from now, future beekeepers will look back and say "Boy, those beekeepers a hundred years ago were idiots!".


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## Eaglerock (Jul 8, 2008)

Well I am learning here. Thanks guys... Honey bees are amazing are they not... I thought so back in the 60's, and 40+ years later, I still am learning about them.


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## papa bear (Nov 1, 2005)

good post mike and bjorn. and i agree with bjorn, weather or not it is worth the effort without a readily market. if i may, one of the question was how. the trap sets on top and the bees "plug" it. look at some queen excluders, i had one hive that covered the qx very quickly. any how, after the trap has enough propolis, you put it in the freezer and after the propolis freezes. you smack it (kind of like getting chewing out of somthing). bjorn do you leave it off during the honey flow? if it could be a side product, say like owning horses produces fertilizer. if you had enough hives to show a significant amount. how long ago where pollen traps ridiculed?


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

We Run proplis traps and collect clean propolis from frames. We sell it raw and also make tincture. We never have enough of either! It is not at all labor intensive at any stage. We get $30/ lb for it at our market, most folks buy it in 2 or 4 oz. quantities.


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## samak (Sep 15, 2006)

What would a chemical industry do with 500KG of pure propolis???


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

samak,
A large company may buy in bulk to certified and analyzed for nutrition, chemical levels, etc. That way, it can be used over time without needing to certify smaller additional quantities, and pay for additional testing.

A thousand or two of any ingredient is not that much if your mass producing something. Propolis can be used in many skin and treatment products, horse salve and other animal products, etc.

They may have a market for distribution of smaller amounts to smaller buyers.


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## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

i believe they are making it like honey based mostly on the ASSUMPTION(yeah i know) that if hives in one yard can harvest nectar from the same source they can harvest propolus from a shared source. yet the appearance of the product is remarkable different in side by side hives that appear to have identical honey .


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

As long as you know....


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## Durandal (Sep 5, 2007)

This is my first year, so take my advice with a grain of salt. Till just recently our season here in SW Ohio has been rocking. Now we are desperate for rain, so things sort of did a 180 on us in a matter of three weeks. That said, I still have lots of pollen coming in and a hive that simply gums up everything with propolis.

So I have tried a trap on the top of it. Its been on for two weeks. Not too sure if that is long or not and its nearly filled. Awesome smelling stuff...sort of cinnamon-ish with more red to it than the darker stuff I have seen in other hives. 

The first week went really slowly with them just glue up the pockets along the edge of the top of the super. I am using telescoping lids with an entrance reducer between them and the front of the inner cover to allow for better airflow. I tried an experiment and placed two risers ontop of the cover so the telescoping lid was full inch up and off allow ful and equal amount of space and airflow...call it "void" if you want and they seemed to simply jam it packed full of propolis.

I am going to pull it off today and freeze and bag the stuff. Nothing close to a pound much less 500Kg. 

I cannot even picture that amount in my mind. If I get a chance, I'll try to measure the weight to give you an idea of turn around time vs gross weight produced from a single screen/hive. I'll try to snap some photos too.

While we are in a drought I am near a river, three ponds, and I grow for markets so I have plenty of irrigation so the bees have water to pull from too.

I hope that helps.


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## wayacoyote (Nov 3, 2003)

How do you clean propolis (particularly those that come from scrapings)? I'm sure the stuff that comes off of the "traps" is clean enough to use.


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## Durandal (Sep 5, 2007)

Does anyone know were to get those super flexible crisscross mesh collectors that you can simply roll up? They seem to be used in Europe and are easier to work with than the more rigid ones they sell in the catalogs over here.


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## 1reb (Jul 29, 2008)

Durandal
how much propolis did you get from the hive?
Johnny


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## Durandal (Sep 5, 2007)

Enough to fill a 4 oz jam jar. I have no idea of the weight. One of the first things I plan to purchase going into 2009 is a digital scale.

I could have probably doubled that...maybe (volume that is). My first time, so I am not sure.

Its smells wonderful though, almost like a mix of myrrh and cinnamon and is really red in color.


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## wayacoyote (Nov 3, 2003)

When is the best time of year to trap propolis? Does it conflict with hive growth if trapping is done while the flow is on?

Can the alcohol be cooled as it evaporates (say, it's heated in a double boiler perhaps) and captured for reuse? If so, Ideas on temperatures and methods?


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## Musashi (Dec 5, 2008)

This propolis thing is amazingly interesting to me as a side project. I have purchased one of the hard black plastic propolis traps but have been suspicious that the effort for the bees to fill the thing will take away from their overall productivity or housekeeping duties or SHB guard duty. 

I'd simply love to do it but that sure worries me. Of course some races are known to propolize more than others and you never hear about it being anything other than a "nuisance" to the beekeeper. In the googling of races of bees, the Caucasion bees are supposed to produce prodigious amounts of propolis. But does anyone even breed Caucasian bees anymore? I don't seem the talked about or mentioned very often in general. It could be the propolis "hassle" turned off many people. Of course them propolizing and putting on traps to make them do it over and over might be two different things. 

I've always seriously considered doing it because it takes no special equipment to speak of and the bees do it in some ways anyway. Pollen trapping always seemed even more risky because you're messing with the natural balance of their diet. The propolis task is messing with their work load in general. I wonder if there are bees that are tasked to make propolis? Is is a thing that only certain age bees do? 

I've been interested ever since my wife told me that in Japan the propolis tincture sells really well. Typically asian cultures favor more homeopathic remedies than we do here. Seems to me selling that stuff overseas would get you out of the fear of being sued if the tincture had a negative reaction on some customer of mine here in the states.

Musashi


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