Recently, the temperature has risen sharply, and various flowers have started to bloom. The bees are becoming more active, and each day,  more of them are seen circling around the hives. As this happens, the beekeeper’s workload naturally increases. Above all, hive inspections  to prevent swarming are essential and cannot be neglected, so I’m kept busy with them every ten days.

If I’m even a bit careless, a new queen  will emerge, leading to a swarm, which would be a serious setback. To prevent this, I need to remove potential queens before the worker bees can develop them. Each frame must be taken out, and queen cells are removed. Inside these cells are royal jelly and larvae destined to become  queens. I usually crush these cells, but when I have the time, I carefully remove them intact, take them home in a container, and use them for health purposes.

It’s incredibly fresh. It’s remarkable that eating this while working prevents fatigue. To keep bees out, I slightly open a part of  the cloth cover and, using the hive tool (an essential beekeeping tool), pop the removed queen cells into my mouth. A unique tartness and  milky flavor spread across my palate, which I enjoy and consume often. The difference is significant; after eating this, the drive home is noticeably easier. Fresh royal jelly seems to have an energizing effect—I never feel drowsy; instead, my mind feels sharp and alert.  This time, since my wife has a shoulder injury, I plan to give her some of the queen cells I brought back. It seems to relieve pain, suggesting it may also have analgesic properties.

Royal jelly is truly a mysterious substance. Young worker bees consume pollen and secrete royal jelly from their hypopharyngeal glands. When this  is fed to larvae, their ovaries develop abnormally, transforming them into queen bees capable of laying eggs equivalent to their body weight  each day. Additionally, their lifespan extends to 3-4 years, compared to just a few months for worker bees. There are virtually no other organisms  that undergo such drastic changes simply due to differences in diet. Scientifically, royal jelly remains a mystery; even after analysis, it consists of common compounds, and the specific ingredient that  induces the transformation into a queen bee is completely unknown. It’s said that anyone who discovers this mechanism would immediately  be awarded a Nobel Prize.