Every Saint Has A Bee In His Halo

Nov 13, 2025
9 min read

Updated: Feb 4

Thank you, Elbert Hubbard. I find this quote very powerful.

My mortal version of a saint is a kind human, but especially one who is exceptional to animals. Why? Because sadly, they can’t protect themselves from us. We are a threat to all of them, but since bees are the leading characters of our business story, let’s focus on them.

I must start by sharing that Valencia boasts a very old and famous example of honey gathering: the cave painting in the Cueva de la Araña (Spider Cave) in Bicorp, dating back some 8,000 to 10,000 years! It depicts a human figure climbing a rope to collect honey from a honeycomb, making it the oldest and most detailed known representation of this prehistoric human activity.

It is an exceptional testament to the daily life and skills of our ancestors, showing a surprisingly sophisticated honey-gathering technique for the time. The Spider Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998!

This has to be a sign that our company will thrive here!

My bee history started in 2010, when I was talking to a professor from one of Guatemala’s universities about the importance of teaching kids in school how to truly care for our planet. At some point during the conversation, he excitedly said: They need to learn about how paramount bees are!, and it took me by surprise because I didn’t fully grasp what he was talking about. I am ashamed to admit it, but it was when I decided to research bees that his words made complete sense. I had to spread the word! So I wrote an article for the magazine I was running about these precious creatures. I was hoping to make an impact, even if I only reached one person, that would make a difference.

Ever since, I have been one of their greatest advocates, to the point that if we (my kids and I) find one struggling on the floor, we pick it up (without fear of getting stung), and offer it water, or a sugar water solution (never honey). We look after it until it is ready to fly again.

Val's history with bees began while we were living in Hawaii, when she was on leave from her job at the hotel and decided to work for a bee farm (read the full story). To take it up a notch, we recently took the online course of Introduction to Traditional and Organic Beekeeping, through the Foro de Formación y Ediciones in Spain, AND WE LOVED IT! It would be my dream come true to become a beekeeper, but until that day comes, one of our goals is to gather from local experts data that we could share with you, and make our Valencian community a better place for these sweet insects!

We could definitely assist you with your green habitat for your visiting bees, but you don’t need us to do simple things that will help them thrive, and that could remarkably impact their short lives. But before we get into that, let me share these not-so-well-known or interesting facts related to bees:

Their antennae, perforated with tiny holes, serve as their "nose" and are capable of locating nectar sources in “nearby” areas (up to 5 miles away) and once they are back they communicate this information to other bees through scented secretions, and by performing a type of dance transmitting data such as the distance and location of nectar, so that they can also find it! Isn’t this the sweetest thing you have ever heard?
In their abdomen, they have a crop where they store honey, nectar, and water, which they later expel according to their needs.
Their wings offer resistance to even the slightest breeze, allowing them to fly in all directions: forward, backwards, and sideways.
When worker bees lose their stinger, they die because it tears a part of their abdomen, but they can still sting other insects without dying because their stingers don’t get stuck in softer exoskeletons. The fatal sting is really a defence against bigger threats, such as cats (or humans). Yes, our Dorito got stung after ignoring our guidelines and placing his paw on top of a bee out of curiosity. We found the stinger under his little toe. I went outside to try to help the bee, but she flew away and probably died later, unless it had been a queen bee. They are the only ones that possess a smooth, barbless stinger, which allows them to sting repeatedly without dying, unlike the worker bees, which have a barbed stinger and die after stinging mammals. This is a key adaptation for defending their hive or competing with other queens.
Bees are highly social and can live harmoniously in colonies of up to 50,000 individuals. I wish we could be more like that.
Through pollination, bees are responsible for more than 80% of the fruit production of our flowering plants. If bees disappear, it would lead to the collapse of the proper functioning of ecosystems, as there would be no food for those who depend on them.
They can contract bacterial diseases, such as American foulbrood or European foulbrood, parasitic diseases, and viral diseases. Therefore, it is very important to prevent them from getting sick; otherwise, it is very difficult or impossible to heal them.
They need nearby water sources that are not for public use or that are water tanks for animals. This is why putting together a water source specially for them would be of great help (we do that for a living).
Plants can hear bees! Plants can produce more nectar in response to pollinator vibrations, a sophisticated strategy where flowers "listen" to the wingbeats of bees and other pollinators, increasing sugar concentration in their nectar within minutes to attract the most effective visitors and ensure successful pollination. This isn't just passive; plants activate sugar-producing genes to make nectar sweeter when they detect specific frequencies, boosting reproductive success.
There is a “not so pretty bee”, the Evania appendigaster, that does something incredible. It has long legs and an abdomen that looks like a little flag, which doesn't sting, bite, or transmit diseases, but this small wasp searches for the capsules where cockroaches store their eggs, known as oothecae. When it finds them, it lays its own eggs there. Then, its larvae hatch and feed on the cockroach eggs before they can develop into adults. In short, it stops the infestation at its source. People often mistake them for pests and kill them when, in reality, they are silent allies. They live in gardens, patios, and kitchens, doing a job that helps without anyone even noticing, so pay attention!
In some parts of the UK, like Brighton & Hove, a coastal city in England, bee bricks have been made mandatory for new buildings taller than five meters since April 2020, according to Brighton & Hove Council’s planning policy. You can find them at Amazon if you are curious about them, but it is probably cheaper to find the direct provider.
Flowers and bumblebees interact using weak electric fields, a two-way communication system where flowers emit negative charges and bees pick up positive charges from the air, allowing bees to sense nectar status via hair-like sensory organs, and flowers to signal recent visits by altering their field after a bee leaves, improving pollination. This interaction is incredibly efficient, including the life span of flowers.
The buzzing frequency of bees, typically 200-400 Hz, is considered a healing vibration in alternative practices like bee therapy (apiotherapy), believed to reduce stress, lower cortisol, promote cellular repair, and offer deep relaxation by stimulating the nervous system and creating a calming, natural sound bath. Do you want to live longer? Beekeeping offers a longer life expectancy than any other profession in the world!
Magnolia is an ancient genus. Appearing before bees evolved, the flowers are theorised to have evolved to encourage pollination by beetles.
ONE teaspoon of honey is the lifetime work of 12 bees. That small spoonful comes from roughly 30,000 flower visits and around 800 miles of flight! INCREDIBLE.
In Spain, you are allowed to kill the Vespa velutina (Asian hornet), which poses a serious threat to European honeybees, since it preys on them voraciously, hunting them in flight and at the entrance of the hives to feed its larvae. This causes stress, disrupts foraging, and leads to colony collapse, as European bees have no natural defences against this invasive predator, which has spread rapidly throughout Europe, affecting honey production and pollination.
There is a "Lucifer" bee that is a species that features horns similar to those often seen in depictions of the devil. These distinctive antennae are found only in the female bee and may be used as a defence mechanism, to collect pollen or nectar, or to gather materials such as resin for their nests. Since the new species was found in the same small area as an endangered wildflower, both could be at risk from habitat disruption and other threatening processes such as climate change, according to the researcher Kit Prendergast from Curtin University in Australia.
A Brazilian beekeeper named Manuel Juraci Vieira went viral because of his unique way of caring for his work partner: a donkey named Boneco. For more than fifteen years, the two have collaborated in honey harvesting, a profession where bee stings are a constant risk. To prevent Boneco from being stung by the bees, Vieira designed and made a beekeeping suit specially adapted for the animal. The outfit includes a mask with a visor that allows the donkey to see clearly while moving, as well as protection for its body and tail. Thanks to this attire, Boneco can safely accompany him throughout the workday without getting stung. The donkey helps transport the containers of honey, which can amount to around nine litres per day. SO SWEET. Watch the video here.
Blue-banded bees are crucial Australian native pollinators that use buzz pollination, a technique where they grab flower anthers (pollen sacs) and rapidly vibrate their flight muscles (around 350-450 Hz) to shake pollen loose, acting like a "salt and pepper shaker" for plants like tomatoes, blueberries, and native flora that hide pollen inside capsules, a method honeybees can't perform. They're efficient "head-bangers," releasing pollen in bursts for collection, making them valuable for agriculture and native ecosystems.
All bees are gorgeous, just by the work they do for us, but there is one that has been crowned the Miss Universe of them all. The Caupolicana bee (Caupolicana fulvicollis) is an endemic species native to Chile, known as the largest bee in the country and valued for its beauty. Its natural habitat is the coastal dunes. Sadly, it is endangered due to the destruction of its habitat by urbanisation and human activities (driving cars, building house complexes, or bringing their pets), requiring urgent protection for its survival and that of the ecosystems it pollinates.

To me, it looks like the “teddy bear” of bees.

What began as a search for medicinal honey has become a historic moment: the world's first legal rights for an insect, born in the Peruvian Amazon, and implemented by the Municipality of Satipo. According to municipal ordinance 3033-2025, stingless bees have the right to exist, thrive, regenerate, and even be represented in court. This initiative was led by Amazon Research International, Earth Law Centre, RC Ashaninka, and Eco Ashaninka.
Scientists have officially declared bees the most important species on the planet, and it makes complete sense why!
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), bees are responsible for pollinating up to 170,000 varieties of plants, supporting 75% of the world's food crops. However, their population is declining rapidly. We must do something!
A study from Tel Aviv University and data from National Geographic revealed that, upon sensing the specific vibration of a bee's wingbeats, flowers respond within minutes by increasing the sugar concentration in their nectar and displaying more vibrant colours. Based on this scientific premise, the chemical company BASF developed BEEMusic, a technological tool that replicates the sound frequency of bee wingbeats (between 0.2 and 0.5 kilohertz) and combines it with musical compositions. The goal is to use this bioacoustics in orchards, gardens, and large crops to stimulate pollination, an ecosystem service that is under global threat.
The University of Oxford, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the University of Greenwich, and the Technical University of Denmark have succeeded in engineering the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica to produce a precise mixture of six key sterols that bees need (superfood for bees). Read more at: http://ox.ac.uk/news/2025-08-20-saving-bees-superfoods-new-engineered-supplement-found-boost-colony-reproduction

Since we are on the subject of great facts about bees, I would like to mention something really beautiful about my country. In the Sarstun River in the department of Izabal, natives have learned to support mangroves, wetlands, and the forests through apiculture! A local initiative by the community to protect their biodiversity, and I invite you to learn more about it by watching the documentary True Guatemala (Guatemala Auténtica) on Amazon Prime.

Bees need water to cool down their hives, for metabolic reasons, and during their travels, especially during summer. There are many ways to give bees water, but honey bees can be picky about their water. It makes sense, so sometimes you need to try different things to get them to use it. Avoid metal containers because the water temperature fluctuates too much, since bees cannot collect water that is too cold, and sometimes water in the shade will not appeal as much to them either. Other factors will impact the water source you offer, but we are here to figure that out for you!

There are also specific plants that you can grow, and that they won’t be able to resist! Depending on the area you have, we would create a specific plan for it, and they won’t be able to resist it. Even if you have space for a couple of plants, that is good enough, and it is then times better than doing nothing.

It is paramount to mention that another initiative that runs along with saving wild bees and honey bees is curbing depopulation in rural areas in Valencia. Please read about it and find out if you are eligible for grants designed to help you buy a home in these areas.

Following you will find part of the photographs and videos we have taken of our healthy obsession with bees:

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