BEEKEEPIN &
DEVELOPMENT 28
ROYAL JELLY What is royal jelly? Royal jelly is the food given to larvae developing into queen honeybees. A larva developing into queen consumes much royal jelly and her weight increases 1300 times over a period of six days. a
How is it made? Royal jelly is secreted from glands in the heads of young worker bees, and some sugars and proteins are also added from the worker bees’ stomachs.
What does it contain? Royal jelly has many different components including proteins, sugars, fats, minerals and vitamins.
What does it look like? A white, thick liquid, a bit like fresh yoghurt or curds. How is royal jelly harvested by beekeepers? Jnder natural conditions a larva destined to become a queen bee develops in an especially large wax cell or cup, and inside this cell worker bees place lavish amounts of royal jelly Honeybee colonies being used to produce royal jelly for harvest are manipulated by the beekeeper to start producing great numbers of queens, perhaps 50 or more. Worker bees therefore
alone is fertile, will mate and will lay eggs, very prolifically. She will live much longer than her sister worker bees. Royal jelly is therefore a potent food as far as developing honeybees are concerned.
Is royal jelly good for humans? Mammals are very different from insects! Substances which have dramatic effects on 2 honeybees may have no effect Typical packaging for royal jelly capsules. The royal jelly has been freeze-dried whatsoever on mammals, and vice versa. Royal jelly does have antibacterial properties: this is probably important in protecting larvae from infection by bacteria within the brood nest
Some people credit royal jelly with remarkable powers for humans and other animals too: however opinions differ and there is no scientific support. Certainly royal jelly is a concentrated source of many nutrients.
What resources are needed for royal jelly harvest?
produce vast amounts of royal jelly (extra feeding of the colony is needed to achieve this) and place it in the queen cells. However instead of the larvae feeding on this and developing into queen bees, the larvae are removed and the royal jelly is harvested by the beekeeper.
Royal jelly production requires a plentiful supply of honeybee colonies, much skilled labour, technical know-how and rigorous time-keeping in the manipulation of colonies Royal jelly must be harvested under hygienic conditions and rapidly refrigerated, frozen or freeze-dried.
Why is it valued so highly by humans?
Which countries harvest royal jelly?
Worker bees and queen bees start life as identical eggs laid by the parent queen. Whether an egg develops into a worker or a queen is determined by the way it is fed. Royal jelly differs from the food given to worker bee larvae. Subsequently adult queen bees differ in many respects from adult worker bees: the queen
Which countries import royal jelly?
The main countries harvesting royal jelly commercially are China, Taiwan and Thailand.
Mainly Japan, with relatively small amounts imported also by other industrialised countries.
@OMMERCIAL ROYAL JELLY PRODUCTION THE BEE ENTERPRISE that we are describing here is based in Chiang Mai. It consists of two directors and 35 apiary workers. They keep about 2700 Apis mellifera colonies, (totalling 24,000 combs) which they move to three different forage areas during the year. From
December to February they make preparations for the main honey production period during March to May. Then follows a short period of colony strengthening, mite control and rearing of new queens until July. In July they start producing royal jelly and this continues until December. During the royal jelly production period, the 2700 colonies are distributed over 36 apiaries in the most suitable places, with minimum distance of 5 km between each apiary. At each apiary there are about 75 colonies. a
THE COMPANY The beekeeping staff are divided into three
groups of 10 persons each, and each group takes care of 12 apiaries. Each group of workers consists of five women and five men and is headed by a group leader who is responsible for the technical beekeeping practice and the productivity of that group.
Vincent Mulder describes a commercial enterprise in northern Thailand which produces royal jelly for export.
The enterprise owns four pick-up vehicles, one used by every group, and one for each director. The groups live in rented houses near wherever the bees are at any time. Every day each group visits four apiaries (Figure 1). This means that every group can visit their 12 apiaries every three days.
COLONY MANAGEMENT The purpose of each visit is to collect royal jelly from each hive, to re-graft new larvae, to check the queen and the strength of the colonies, and to feed sugar and pollen if necessary. Each apiary has some colonies continuously rearing new queens in case they
Figure 1. The beekeepers arrive al an apiary and unload all the equipment they need
THREE
