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Biotherapy - History, Principles and Practice pp 113–146Cite as

Apitherapy – The Use of Honeybee Products

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Abstract

In the bee world, the unit of life is the colony, not the bee. None of the three casts, i.e. queen, worker or drone, can survive alone nor reproduce itself. Swarming is a collective behavior by which the colony reproduces itself. For this purpose, the workers build special cells in which the queen deposits eggs. The hatching larvae are fed with a secretion of the worker bees, the royal jelly, which is necessary for the growth of the future queens. When laying eggs the queen is too heavy to fly; the bees then starve her to prepare her for swarming. When the queen cells are ready and the queen able to fly, about one-half of the bee population, together with the old queen, leaves the original nest to find another home.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maine Medical Center, Spring Harbor Hospital, 13 Main Street, 155, South Freeport, ME, 04078-0155, USA

    Theodore Cherbuliez M.D. (Consulting Medical Staff)

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  1. Theodore Cherbuliez M.D.
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Correspondence to Theodore Cherbuliez M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. and Semmelweis Clinic, Institute of Pathology and Microbiology, Rudolfstiftung Hospital, Juchgasse 25, Vienna, 1030, Austria

    Martin Grassberger

  2. & Research Foundation, BioTherapeutics, Education, Urey Court 36, Irvine, 92617, California, USA

    Ronald A. Sherman

  3. , Preclinic Dentistry and Physiotherapy, Perm State Academy of Medicine, Revolution Street 4-135, Perm, 614007, Russia

    Olga S. Gileva

  4. , Graduate School of Integrated Medicine, CHA University, Yatapdong, Bundanggu 222, Seongnam, Gyeongghido, 463-836, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Christopher M.H. Kim

  5. Hadassah Medical School, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Hebrew University -, P.O. Box 12272, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel

    Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu

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Cherbuliez, T. (2013). Apitherapy – The Use of Honeybee Products. In: Grassberger, M., Sherman, R., Gileva, O., Kim, C., Mumcuoglu, K. (eds) Biotherapy - History, Principles and Practice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6585-6_5

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