Discover the Sweetness of Nature
Is honey actually bee vomit? Yes, but not really, but kind of is, but no.
We will get to that.
Bee Vomit
Raw & unfiltered honey straight from hive to jar
500g 375 ml Glass Jar
$10
*Free delivery to Central Coast, Newcastle & Sydney regions (for orders of 5 or more units)
Product Information
For NSW orders outside of Central Coast, Newcastle & Sydney contact us for options*
Our Bee Vomit Story
The Beginning
Our journey began when our founder, Corian, discovered his fascination with bees and their importance to our ecosystem. This led him to start beekeeping and sharing his insights (essentially just Googles it) about bees, how you keep them and simpler, healthier forms of honey harvesting.
Passion for Beekeeping
At Francais Bees, we are dedicated to the art and science of beekeeping. Our mission is to educate and inspire others to appreciate the vital role bees play in our ecosystem.
Our Italian honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica) families are located in Lake Munmorah, Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Not actually in the lake as the bees are refusing to swim. The jokes get worse, trust us.
Foraging in suburban gardens, coastal wetlands, forest shrubs and gumtrees, our bees can travel up to 5 km to locate resources during Spring and Summer.
In cold months with less stuff around, they may fly up to 10 km from the hive. O-beehave!
Known for their mild nature, reliable queens and less likely to 'swarm', the Italian honey bee is well suited to our warm climate.
Why do bees never become lost?
Sun Compass Navigation
Path Integration (Dead Reckoning)
Sun Compass Navigation
- Polarised Light: Bees use polarised light patterns in the sky (even on cloudy days) to determine the sun’s position.
- Solar Position: They have an internal "solar compass" and can adjust their navigation based on the sun's movement throughout the day.
- Time Compensation: Bees use their internal circadian clock to account for the sun's shifting position.
Landmark Recognition
Path Integration (Dead Reckoning)
Sun Compass Navigation
- Bees remember distinctive landmarks such as trees, buildings, or flower patches to guide them back to their hive or feeding sites.
- They combine visual memories of landmarks with their sense of distance travelled.
- They can forage up to 5km from the hive in search of resources. Their preferred range is 1 - 2km.
Path Integration (Dead Reckoning)
Path Integration (Dead Reckoning)
Path Integration (Dead Reckoning)
- As they travel, bees track the direction and distance they've flown from the hive. They use this information to calculate a direct return route.
- Distance is estimated using optic flow, which measures the movement of visual patterns as they fly.
Odour Cues
Magnetic Field Sensitivity
Path Integration (Dead Reckoning)
Bees can recognise and follow the scent of flowers and other odours to locate forage sources.
They also use the hive’s unique scent to identify their home.
If Corian is nearby the hive they can also smell his unique scent from 10 km away. We ought to remedy that issue. [This may not bee correct]
Magnetic Field Sensitivity
Magnetic Field Sensitivity
Magnetic Field Sensitivity
Bees are thought to have sensitivity to Earth’s magnetic field, which may help them orient themselves over longer distances.
Waggle Dance Communication
Magnetic Field Sensitivity
Magnetic Field Sensitivity
When bees find a food source, they communicate its location to other hive members through the waggle dance.
The dance provides information about the direction (relative to the sun) and distance of the food source.
Corian's attempts at waggle dancing provides little assistance in their foraging efforts. [This may also not bee correct]
UV Vision
Learning Flights
Learning Flights
Bees see ultraviolet (UV) light, which enhances their ability to detect nectar guides on flowers. This also helps them navigate using UV patterns in the sky.
Learning Flights
Learning Flights
Learning Flights
When leaving the hive for the first time or exploring a new location, bees perform spiralling "learning flights" to memorise the surrounding area.
Assuming 20 days of foraging, and averaging 75 km per day, a foraging worker bee could fly around 1,500 km in its lifetime.
Bees are seeking to legislate gaining frequent flyer points based on all they do. [This may not bee correct]
Social Cues
Learning Flights
Social Cues
Bees can also follow experienced foragers to a food source if they encounter them near the hive.
If a bee refuses to connect with another bee on social media, then they will avoid that bee in the hive. [This may not bee correct]
The Queen Rulz
Role in the Colony
The queen bee is the only fertile female in the hive. Queens are physically distinct, with a longer abdomen, wider and less body hair than workers.
She does not forage or engage in hive tasks. Her sole focus is reproduction and fighting rival queens to the death!
Her primary role is to lay eggs—up to 2,000 per day during peak season—to sustain the colony population.
Life Cycle
Development: A queen bee develops from a fertilised egg, just like worker bees, but is fed exclusively on royal jelly throughout her larval stage. This special diet triggers the development of her reproductive system.
Emergence: She emerges from her queen cell in about 16 days—faster than worker or drone bees (males)..
Mating
After emerging, a young queen takes one or more mating flights and mates with multiple drones, the males (10–20) in midair. This occurs within the first few weeks of her life.
She stores the sperm from these matings in a special organ called the spermatheca, using it to fertilise eggs for the rest of her life.
Egg Laying
The queen determines the sex of the eggs:
- Fertilised eggs: Develop into female workers or queens.
- Unfertilised eggs: Develop into male drones.
She can lay thousands of eggs per day during the colony’s peak season.
Pheromones
The queen secretes pheromones (known as the queen’s scent) that regulate the colony’s behaviour. These pheromones:
- Suppress the reproductive abilities of worker bees.
- Help maintain colony cohesion and communication.
Lifespan
A queen bee can live for 1–5 years, significantly longer than worker bees (which live a few weeks to months). However, her productivity declines with age.
Beekeepers or the hive itself may replace her if she becomes less productive.
Succession
If a queen dies or her pheromones weaken, the colony raises a new queen by feeding royal jelly to selected larvae.
If multiple queens emerge simultaneously, they fight until only one remains. They send out a high pitch buzz to call other queens to a dual.
Unlike worker bees who die once they use their stinger, the queen can use and retract hers at will. She is also equipped to sting through cell walls to take out other developing queens. Not fair.
The Pollen
Purpose
How Bees Collect Pollen
How Bees Collect Pollen
Pollen is collected as a protein-rich food source for the hive, primarily to feed larvae.
It complements nectar, which provides carbohydrates.
How Bees Collect Pollen
How Bees Collect Pollen
How Bees Collect Pollen
Bees use their hairy bodies to trap pollen grains while foraging on flowers.
They groom themselves using their legs to gather pollen into special structures called pollen baskets (corbiculae), located on their hind legs.
Bees would love to shave their legs, but do not for the sake of the hive. [This may not bee correct]
Pollen Packing
How Bees Collect Pollen
Flower Preferences
Bees mix the pollen with a bit of nectar or saliva to make it sticky, forming compact "pollen pellets" for transport.
A single honey bee can carry a pollen load weighing about 30% of its body weight.
Flower Preferences
Flower Preferences
Flower Preferences
Bees are attracted to flowers with bright colours (blue, yellow, and UV patterns) and open or easily accessible pollen.
Flowers with strong scents are often preferred.
Bee Bread
Flower Preferences
Bee Bread
Inside the hive, pollen is stored in comb cells and mixed with enzymes, nectar, and honey, fermenting into "bee bread."
This process preserves the pollen and makes its nutrients more bioavailable.
It is a crucial source of protein, vitamins, and minerals for developing larvae and young worker bees.
Don't Drone on about it
Drones Are Male Bees
Drones Are Male Bees
Drones Are Male Bees
Drones are the only male bees in a hive, developing from unfertilised eggs through a process called parthenogenesis.
Unlike workers and queens, they have no stingers, wax glands or pollen baskets, as their primary purpose is reproduction.
Drones are noticeably larger and rounder than worker bees, with larger eyes. Are you looking at me?
Sole Role is to Mate
Drones Are Male Bees
Drones Are Male Bees
Drones exist to mate with virgin queens from other colonies during a mating flight.
Their large compound eyes help them locate queens during mating flights.
After mating, the drone dies immediately because his reproductive organs are torn away in the process.
That is a wee bit harsh. Hope they found their 'sole' mate after that terrifying experience.
Lazy in Hive
Drones Are Male Bees
Lazy in Hive
Drones do not forage, collect nectar, build comb, or defend the hive. Kind of losers really.
Instead, they rely on worker bees to feed them and care for them. Their prospects are not looking good...
In cold months worker bees stop feeding them, forcing them out of the hive to conserve resources for winter. Drones then die of starvation or cold. Well they were told.
Setting up and using an 'auto-hive'
Get permission
Feeding your bees
Get permission
Permits: Check local regulations on beekeeping in your area (e.g., registration with the Department of Primary Industries in NSW, Australia).
Aquire your hive. Build it.
Your brood box (called a super) operates for a month to get established, before you add your honey box (honey super). Weird names, we know.
Ready the home
Feeding your bees
Get permission
Get your bee colony and your mated queen.
These can come in a container with a few days food supply while they wait to be placed into their new home, which you will want to do quickly once acquired.
After dark (sleepy bees), while gloved and suited up, carefully remove the queen cage (keeps her seperate while in storage) and shake your bees into the brood box with some frames removed for some space.
Leftover bees in the container will 'walk' up into the hive when they feel like it in search of their queen.
Feeding your bees
Feeding your bees
Installing the honey super
Carefully replace the missing brood frames. The bees will move out of the way if you go gentle.
Remove the cap from the queen cage so the worker bees can then 'save her' (she has been using her scent on them by now) by eating through the sweet treat.
Put the lid on. Leave them for a few weeks. Using a bee feeder, give them white sugar water 1:1 ratio so they have energy and can make comb faster.
After a few days, check that they have rescued the queen, if not, manually release her.
Installing the honey super
Installing the honey super
Installing the honey super
Add your honey super that has your flow-frames. Ensure they are set in 'store' position.
The 'queen excluder' is a critical divider preventing her from accessing above honey harvest areas. She is just too wide to fit through.
Don't be alarmed if the bees take a while to investigate. Once the brood super is full of honey stores, they will head up and start wax repairing the cell floor gaps.
Give them time
Installing the honey super
The Harvest Part I
The lady bees will wax over mature honey once they are happy with it's viscosity.
If you harvest too soon, you will have very runny (although tasty) honey.
White wax: honey stores.
Yellow wax: brood and pollen stores
Brown wax: wall, roof and general repairs
The Harvest Part I
Installing the honey super
The Harvest Part I
We harvest at night when the bees are chilling out, but no rule on this. Some get curious and come around for a feed.
Remove the key door and tubes cover.
The Harvest Part II
The Harvest Part II
The Harvest Part II
Have your jars ready.
Insert the tubes after cap removal and turn the inserted metal key changing the frames into 'empty' position. (it can take some force to break the wax seals inside, but excercise care).
Remember to restore your frames to 'capture' position when complete.
If you don't the bees will write you out of their will. [This may not bee correct]
Enjoy the bounty
The Harvest Part II
The Harvest Part II
In peak season a small hive can be producing 6 to 8 jars a month.
See what different colours and flavours each season brings. For us we get lighter, floral flavours in Spring/early Summer harvests and darker, stronger flavours in late-Summer/mid-Autumn harvests.
We don't harvest over winter so they can relax.
HOT TIP: Add a second brood super to an established hive for a more secure colony and faster honey production.
So is honey actually bee vomit?
It isn't but sounds inviting
Honey is not bee vomit. It is said that this is a common misconception, but you likely thought otherwise.
Let's break it down. Here’s how honey is made:
Nectar Collection: Bees collect nectar from flowers using their proboscis and store it in their honey stomach (a specialised organ separate from their digestive stomach).
Enzyme Addition: While in the honey stomach, the nectar is mixed with enzymes that begin breaking down its complex sugars into simpler sugars.
Transfer to Hive: The bee regurgitates (transfers) the enzyme-treated nectar to another worker bee or directly into the honeycomb. This isn’t "vomit" in the sense of digestive expulsion, as it never enters the bee’s true stomach.
Evaporation: Inside the hive, bees fan the nectar with their wings to reduce its water content, thickening it into honey. They then wax it over once they are happy with the product.
So, while regurgitation is involved, honey isn’t "vomit" in the typical sense. It's a highly refined process that bees use to create a long-lasting, nutrient-rich food source.
More to come. Thanks for beeing here.
