Propolis per Hive Monthly

Propolis Production per Hive per Month

Propolis is the resinous stuff honey bees (Apis mellifera) gather off tree buds and plant exudates, then work together with beeswax and salivary enzymes to seal the hive shut against pathogens. You can estimate the monthly yield per productive colony with Y = colony_strength × collection_efficiency × floral_availability. For strong hives in tropical climates that usually lands somewhere in the 100–300 g/month range, and it falls off to almost nothing during dearth periods.

To collect it, beekeepers set a propolis trap above the brood box, a perforated plastic or wire screen, and the bees fill in the gaps to seal it. Once the screen is loaded, you freeze it and flex it, which pops the brittle propolis pellets loose. Brazilian green propolis comes mostly from Baccharis dracunculifolia (alecrim-do-campo); its high artepillin-C content makes it sought-after, and a lot of it heads to Japan for use in nutraceuticals.

Applications

Beekeepers lean on this estimate to project revenue (kg per apiary per harvest) and to size their extraction tanks. In Brazil, propolis is registered as a phytotherapic under ANVISA RDC 26/2014, and the usual commercial form is a 10–30% ethanolic tincture sold for oral immune support and as a topical antiseptic.

FAQ

Does harvesting propolis weaken the colony? No. All the screen does is redirect the bees’ sealing instinct onto a surface you can take out, and resin foraging is minor next to how much nectar they bring in.

Why is Brazilian green propolis so valuable? It comes down to artepillin-C, a prenylated phenolic acid from B. dracunculifolia with documented antioxidant and antitumor activity in vitro. European propolis, which is poplar-derived, has hardly any of it.

How is propolis quality graded? Graders look at color (green, red, brown), total flavonoid content (% w/w), the wax fraction and the origin certificate. The Brazilian NBR/MAPA standard sets the minimum flavonoid thresholds a batch has to clear to be classified commercially.