Honey Bee Hive Modification for Propolis Collection

Propolis is collected by honey bees to seal cracks in the hive, to strengthen borders of combs and as medication for various pathogenic infections. In the current field study, experiments were carried out in two locations; the University of Jordan main campus (location 1) with dominant pine trees to collect propolis (Type 1), and Al- Hashmeah (location 2) with dominant oak trees to collect propolis ( Type 2 ). The experiments were carried out during the period from June 2003 to September 2004. The effect of hive modification (lateral and back aluminum plates, top plastic sheet and the control) of Langstroth hives, different locations and months of the year on propolis collection was studied. The interaction combination of (Location 2 X lateral side modification X August) and (Location 1 X lateral side modification X August) produced the highest amount of propolis collected with an average of 15.77 and 15.63 grams, respectively