Hive Products
Beeswax, Propolis & Hive Products in Waltham Cross
Bees aren't just honey producers. The European Honey Bee is responsible for a whole range of products whose use can be traced back to Ancient Chinese and Egyptian times.
3 Five Star Reviews on GoogleMore than honey
Bees aren't just honey producers
Everybody knows about honey, but in fact the European Honey Bee, or Apis mellifera, is responsible for producing many more amazing products and the use of these can be traced back to Ancient Chinese and Egyptian times. These have been used for a range of culinary and medical products.
If you want to find out more about how hive products can be used to promote wellbeing, see our apitherapy page. If it is the honey itself you are after, our honey page explains what we produce and when.
To get further information on any of these products, call us.
Hive products
What the hive produces, and what it is used for
-
Beeswax
This is secreted by the worker bee from special glands on the underside of her body and used to build the home in which the bees live. It is made from honey that is eaten by the bees. Between two and four pounds of honey has to be consumed by the bees to produce one pound of beeswax. It is available from us as blocks (from 25g to over a kilogram - size priced by weight) and made into candles and polish.
-
Propolis
A resinous substance collected by bees from plants and trees, used to coat the inside of the hive and honeycomb cells to create an antiseptic layer. Sometimes available from us in the form of a tincture.
-
Bee Pollen
Collected from flowers and used as the protein part of a bee's diet. Pollen can be harvested from the hive and then either dried or frozen before being included in natural remedies and food supplements.
-
Royal Jelly
Produced by the bees as food for the 'developing' bees, all bees are fed this for the first three days of their larval period, queen bees are fed this for the whole of their larval period to ensure correct development.
-
Bee venom
This is the product of a bee's sting. Some people are severely allergic to it and although it can be used therapeutically, caution MUST be taken as DEATH is FINAL.
Bee venom therapy should only ever be considered after discussion with an apitherapist and your own doctor. We can advise so that you can make an informed decision.
Working with wax
Making candles and polish from your own beeswax
Beeswax is the hive product most beekeepers end up with whether they planned to or not. Once you have rendered and cleaned it, it turns into candles, polish and cosmetics without much equipment at all. We stock rectangular and hexagonal wax moulds, small queen bee moulds, a bain marie, candle wick in every common size and natural or coloured beeswax sheets for rolled candles.
We also run a talk covering how to recover wax from the hive, how to clean it and how to produce saleable items from it, which you can read about on our demonstrations page. Moulds, wick and sheets are all listed on the beekeeping equipment page.
Wax moulds, candlemaking and gift items
Bain marie, wax moulds, candle wick, beeswax sheets and bee themed gifts, all listed with March 2026 prices.
Interested in a particular hive product?
Availability changes through the season, so ring or message us and we will tell you what we have in and what can be ordered.
