Royal jelly: how it is mined and how it is obtained, storage rules

Royal jelly is a sticky liquid produced by young bees aged 5-15 days. Insects produce this substance in the pharyngeal glands. Royal jelly can be liquid or thick jelly. The first variety is intended for growing ordinary bees, the second - for feeding the uterus. The composition of the substance contains many valuable components. Therefore, the question of how royal jelly is obtained is very relevant.

What is this?

Royal jelly is a specially formulated feed that is used by worker bees to feed their larvae and raise ordinary bees.The substance is produced by nurse bees. Royal jelly is formed in the maxillary gland of insects, from which it enters the honeycombs with larvae. In appearance, the composition resembles a thick mass of white or light cream shade. It is characterized by an increased pH level.

Royal jelly contains the following ingredients:

• 65% water;
• 10-20% proteins - albumins and globulins;
• 10-20% carbohydrates - fructose, glucose, sucrose.

Also milk includes vitamins B, A, C, D, E, H, PP. There are also fatty acids in it - succinic, stearic, decenoic, palmitic. In addition, the product contains sterols and acetylcholines.

Educational process

Milk has a simple formation process. It is made by bees aged 6-15 days when eating bee bread. It is at this moment that the nurse bees receive a special substance in the maxillary and pharyngeal glands, which is used to fill the wax cell - the mother liquor.

Then an egg is placed in it, which is intended to hatch the uterus. At the same time, the larva that emerges from the egg literally bathes in milk. It not only saturates it with nutrients, but also provides reliable protection against bacteria.

Which bees produce milk

Milk is produced by the so-called nurse bees. They are ordinary working individuals that are focused on supplying queen cells with food.

How royal jelly is obtained

Under natural conditions, bees produce a small amount of a valuable substance. At the same time, the queen itself receives its maximum volume, for which the bees create queen cells. However, there are several methods that help to collect a valuable product.

Change Queen

In this case, literally 2 cells are laid, from which a little product is then collected. This method cannot be called effective, because it is used extremely rarely.

Swarming

When using this method, the bees pull a large number of queen cells. However, experienced beekeepers try not to use this method, as it can provoke the loss of bees.

Orphanage

This is the most common and effective method. It involves the creation of a large number of queen cells by bees. Their exact number is determined by the breed of bees. The maximum parameter is typical for mountain Caucasian bees. It is 50-60 pieces at a time.

Safety rules

To get high-quality royal jelly, it is important to strictly follow the safety rules. All cut queen cells must be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. In this case, their shelf life is 1 year. If you remove the substance from the mother liquor, it will lose its beneficial properties after 2 hours.

The following is required to obtain milk safely:

1. Separate room, which maintains high humidity, stable temperature at +25-27 degrees and no bright sunlight. It is important to thoroughly disinfect the room.
2. Special tools and refrigerator.
3. Alcohol for hand sanitizer.
4. Means for sterilizing instruments and storage containers. It is important to use glass or aluminum containers for royal jelly. Plastic and Plexiglas will not work.
5. Sterile clothing and four-layer gauze bandage.

It is important to avoid exposing the jelly to strong sunlight and air. Otherwise, it will quickly lose its properties.

New mining methods

Many beekeepers use beekeeping products and newer methods that have many advantages:

1. Miller's method. In this case, 4 triangles of wax sheets are fixed on the frame. It is important to maintain 5 centimeters from the bottom bar. The structure needs to be placed between 2 brood frames. When using this method, the bees pull out the foundation, while the uterus is engaged in laying the larvae. After that, the frame with the brood is pulled out, thinned out and transferred to the orphaned family.The bees begin to pull the queen cells. Already after 3 days, you can start collecting the first royal jelly and put a new frame.
2. Transfer of larvae in wax bowls. They are made by hand. To do this, you should use a wooden blank, the diameter of which is 8-10 centimeters. It needs to be chilled in the refrigerator first. After that, you need to melt pure wax and immerse the workpiece in the resulting mass. This must be done twice. After cooling, the workpiece needs to be twisted to get a bowl. You need to put the larvae in it. It is recommended to do this with a spatula. After 3 days, the queen cells can be pulled out and new bowls placed.
3. Genter's method. This scientist found that it is possible to obtain royal jelly without the transfer of larvae. This requires the use of plastic honeycombs. At the same time, the bottom plug with the larva is pulled out and fixed on the hive frame.

Storage rules and expiry date

Many beekeepers refuse to harvest royal jelly because it has a very short shelf life. In its pure form, the product can be stored for literally 2 hours.

The expired substance does not pose a he alth hazard, but it is completely devoid of useful properties. Subject to certain rules, the shelf life can be increased to 2 years. To do this, it is permissible to use the following methods:

1. Adsorption. To apply this method, a composition of 98% lactose and 2% glucose must be added to 1 part of royal jelly. It must be rubbed well to obtain a uniform consistency, and placed in a sealed dark glass bottle. At a temperature of -18 degrees, the shelf life of the substance is 2 years.
2. Lyophilization. This method is actively used in industrial conditions. In this case, the product must first be frozen for 3 hours.This is done at a temperature of -35-40 degrees. After that, sublimation is performed using a vacuum. This procedure is carried out for 2 days. After dehydration, the moisture content of royal jelly is no more than 2%. In this form, the product can be stored for 2 years. In this case, the temperature should be +20 degrees.

However, these are not all available ways to preserve the beneficial properties of a substance. It can be stored in mother liquors or mixed with honey. It is also acceptable to use the product in granules.

In queen cells

It is best to store this beekeeping product in a natural casing - in a mother liquor. It is in this form that beekeepers produce milk. They cut wax cells from the hives with a larva inside, which is completely covered with a valuable liquid. After that, the mother liquors are subjected to deep freezing. Before use, the contents can be easily pulled out with the tip of a spoon.If desired, the embryo can be separated.

With honey

To make a mixture with honey, it is recommended to use only fresh mother liquors that have not been frozen. The finished composition does not need to be kept in the freezer. It is quite acceptable to store it in the refrigerator at a temperature of + 5-18 degrees. The shelf life of this product is 18 months.

In granules

Bee's milk is perfectly acceptable to store in powder form. Usually the product in granules is sold in pharmacies. However, finding a natural composition can be quite difficult. Of the advantages of this form of release, it is worth highlighting the long shelf life and ease of calculating the dosage.

Royal jelly is a very useful beekeeping product that contains many valuable components. Therefore, many beekeepers collect this substance using traditional or more modern methods.

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