About Bees

Crazy about bees!

At Hilltop Honey we celebrate bees... because without them, we wouldn't exist! Literally. They make our honey. Honey bees collect nectar to create honey and store as food because it provides the energy for bees to fly and heating for the colony in the winter months. The good news for us is that honey bees will always make more honey than their hive needs, so we just bottle what's left over.

Keep scrolling to learn about honeybees.

Help us save the bees

all about the hive

all about the hive

Worker Bees

They do all the work in the hive, and they control most of what goes on inside. Their jobs include housekeeping, feeding the queen, drones and larvae, collecting the pollen and nectar, and making the wax.

Drone Bees

They are male bees and their sole purpose is to mate with the queen: they don't work, don't make honey and can't sting. Since a queen only needs to mate once, most of the drones won't even get the chance to fulfil their role. But worker bees keep them around, just in case a new queen needs mating.

Queen Bees

The queen is the most important individual in a colony. She is the only bee capable of producing workers and tens of thousands of workers are required for strong colonies.

Your questions answered

Honey - the golden nectar that has been loved for years! It is a culinary marvel that invites many questions, from the delicate dance of bees gathering nectar, to the rich symphony of flavours that different varieties of honey offer, there's so much to explore. Perhaps, you're wondering about the history of honey, health benefits, or dishes to which you can add this sweet nectar. Let's delve into your questions, unravelling its secrets and celebrating its role in our kitchens and beyond.

What is honey?

Honey is a magnificent natural golden liquid produced by hard working bees and is also our favourite topping on a range of foods.

Honey bees collect nectar to create honey and store as food because it provides the energy for bees to fly and heating for the colony in the winter months. The good news for us is that honey bees will always make more honey than their hive needs, so we just bottle what's left over.

Honey's main ingredient is sugar carbohydrates and is supposed to contain a range of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, organic acids and pollen.

How is honey made?

Honey's journey begins as nectar in a flower. Working together as a team, bees communicate with bumps and noises to find the best flowers for the job. Once they've found the best ones, they use their tongues to suck the nectar from the flower’s nectary. And then the magic begins! The nectar travels to the bee’s honey stomach, where the sugars are broken down in a process called inversion.

It is then brought back to the hive where house bees pack it into hexagon shaped beeswax honey cells. The structure of the hive and constant buzzing of the bees' wings results in evaporation, which creates our wonderful honey.

Beekeepers harvest the remaining honeycomb frames that bees don't need by placing the honeycombs in a centrifuge that spins the frames, forcing honey out of the comb. The mixture is then strained and bottled.

Could you tell me about the history of honey?

Honey has been around for over 10,000 years!!

Let’s take a moment to allow that to sink in. 10,000 years! The humans who were lucky enough to take the first tastes of that honey probably found it inside a wild bee’s nest, and we can only imagine the excitement it brought!

Rewinding 10,000 years isn’t easy - but historians do believe that most honey consumed back then was obtained via wild nests, until the Ancient Egyptians discovered a way to construct hives.

What are the health benefits of honey?

Honey has been used for centuries and is believed to assist the healing of wounds, which may limit the effects of bacteria and reduce infections. Many people also use honey as a remedy to the common cold due to its natural propities.

Honey is also a great alternative to refined sugar - so if you have a sweet tooth and want a natural alternative, why not try honey.

Shop Honey

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Everyday Blossom Honey4.8

From £1.85

Hot Honey5.0

£3.49

Sold out

Cut Comb in Acacia Honey Saver pack 340g x 45.0

£19.20

£28.00

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Organic Acacia Honey Saver Pack 340g x 64.8

£19.20

£27.00

Save £7.85

Blossom Honey, Big Squeezy Saver Pack 720g x 55.0

£19.15

£27.00

Cut Comb Slab5.0

From £6.75

Delicious honeycomb

I have bought several of these honeycomb slabs over the past few years and they never disappoint. The flavour is good and such a treat on toast for breakfast!

I love this honey, it is the best one I've had

Good tasting honey

Love this honey with the cut comb, tasty and good for you. Use it in smoothies and on cereal.

Cut comb in Acacia honey

I’ve been buying this honey for quite a while now, it is a really lovely honey which I mainly use in my porridge in the morning, which really adds a wonderful flavour. Great product!!!

Mead making

Thankyou, lovely honey, making spiced mead (Metheglin!)

Keep scrolling to learn about honeybees.

all about the hive

all about the hive

Alternatively known as the mother of the hive and can lay up to 2000 eggs a day!

Did you know? The queen bee is so busy laying eggs, she has servants, called 'attendants' who follow her all day, feeding and cleaning her.

A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic cells built from beeswax by honey bees in their nests to contain their brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) and stores of honey and pollen. Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey.

Did you know there are 20,000 different types of bees in the world? But only one kind makes honey: the honeybee. This bee species lives in large families, or colonies, and can be found all over the world.

They do all the work in the hive, and they control most of what goes on inside. Their jobs include housekeeping, feeding the queen, drones and larvae, collecting the pollen and nectar, and making the wax.

They are male bees and their sole purpose is to mate with the queen: they don't work, don't make honey and can't sting. Since a queen only needs to mate once, most of the drones won't even get the chance to fulfil their role. But worker bees keep them around, just in case a new queen needs mating.

The queen is the most important individual in a colony. She is the only bee capable of producing workers and tens of thousands of workers are required for strong colonies.

Your questions answered

Honey is a magnificent natural golden liquid produced by hard working bees and is also our favourite topping on a range of foods.

Honey bees collect nectar to create honey and store as food because it provides the energy for bees to fly and heating for the colony in the winter months. The good news for us is that honey bees will always make more honey than their hive needs, so we just bottle what's left over.

Honey's main ingredient is sugar carbohydrates and is supposed to contain a range of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, organic acids and pollen.

It is then brought back to the hive where house bees pack it into hexagon shaped beeswax honey cells. The structure of the hive and constant buzzing of the bees' wings results in evaporation, which creates our wonderful honey.

Beekeepers harvest the remaining honeycomb frames that bees don't need by placing the honeycombs in a centrifuge that spins the frames, forcing honey out of the comb. The mixture is then strained and bottled.

Honey has been around for over 10,000 years!!

Let’s take a moment to allow that to sink in. 10,000 years! The humans who were lucky enough to take the first tastes of that honey probably found it inside a wild bee’s nest, and we can only imagine the excitement it brought!

Rewinding 10,000 years isn’t easy - but historians do believe that most honey consumed back then was obtained via wild nests, until the Ancient Egyptians discovered a way to construct hives.

Honey has been used for centuries and is believed to assist the healing of wounds, which may limit the effects of bacteria and reduce infections. Many people also use honey as a remedy to the common cold due to its natural propities.

Honey is also a great alternative to refined sugar - so if you have a sweet tooth and want a natural alternative, why not try honey.

Shop Honey

Hilltop Honey Ltd,

Vastre Industrial Estate,

Newtown

SY16 1DZ

Let customers speak for us