Glossary
A flexible plastic or fabric sheet with narrow slits placed on top of the hive frames to encourage bees to fill the gaps with propolis. Propolis traps are the primary method for harvesting propolis in quantity from managed colonies.
Bees seal every gap in their hive with propolis. A propolis trap takes advantage of this behavior by creating hundreds of artificial gaps. The trap is a flexible plastic sheet about the size of the hive top, scored with parallel slits approximately 1/8 inch wide, narrower than bee space. Too narrow for bees to pass through but wide enough to create a draft, these slits trigger the bees' sealing instinct. Workers pack each slit with propolis, filling the entire trap over several weeks.
When the trap is full, the beekeeper removes it from the hive and places it in a freezer for a few hours. Cold temperatures make propolis brittle. Once frozen, the trap is flexed or rolled, and the propolis snaps out of the slits in small, clean chunks. A single trap can yield 50 to 300 grams of propolis per harvest, depending on the colony's behavior and the resin sources available in the bees' foraging range.
Traps are typically placed during peak resin-collection season, which corresponds to periods when buds and tree sap are most available. In Florida, this means year-round collection is possible, though propolis production is highest during the warmer months when bees are most active.
Raw propolis harvested from traps contains roughly 50% resins, 30% waxes, 10% essential oils, 5% pollen, and 5% organic compounds. For tinctures, the resin is dissolved in alcohol and the wax filtered out. For skincare, propolis can be dissolved in carrier oils or incorporated directly into balm formulations. The quality and composition of propolis varies significantly by geography: Florida propolis has a different botanical profile than propolis from temperate forests in the northeastern United States.
With a propolis trap in place, a single colony can produce 50 to 300 grams of propolis per harvest cycle (usually every 4 to 8 weeks). Without a trap, propolis is only collected incidentally by scraping it from frame tops and box edges during inspections, yielding much smaller quantities.
No. Propolis trapping does not harm the colony. Bees continue to produce and apply propolis normally throughout the hive. The trap simply provides additional surfaces for them to fill. Removing the full trap and replacing it with a new one allows continuous harvesting.
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