Product Overview
Flexible Propolis Trap - 8 Frame or 10 Frame
Propolis is a great value-added product for beekeepers to offer customers. Propolis is a sticky mixture of beeswax and resins collected from plants. This glue-like substance is made and used by the hive bees to hold everything in their hive in place. It ranges in color and texture depending on your location and the sources the honeybees have available to them. Propolis can be sold as a raw product or be processed and added to medicines, tinctures, lip balms or skin creams.
To Use: place the propolis trap on the hive in place of the inner cover. Using a shim, prop open the outer cover slightly, just enough to allow light into the hive. The bees will try to close off the light source by propolizing the trap. *Please note: Bees are not able to pass through the propolis trap, so they cannot propolize the outer cover area*
The time it takes the bees to propolize the trap will depend on your area, the weather and the plant sources the bees are using to collect the resins from. Also some colonies of bees seem to collect more propolis than others. Once the trap is sufficiently full, remove the trap and the shim, returning your inner cover to the hive. Place the entire trap into a bag, usually a large garbage bag works well, and put in the freezer overnight. The propolis will become brittle when frozen. Once frozen, remove the bag and trap from freezer, leaving the bag on, bang the trap on a tabletop or floor. The brittle propolis will fall off into the bag. Sometimes twisting the trap works but may cause a little more of a mess. Freezing and banging the trap will sufficiently clean the trap. You can then place it back on your hive if you would like to harvest more propolis or store the trap for future use. Store the trap in a cool, dry place away from pests that might damage.
