About Us
Kangaroo Island is considered the world’s oldest sanctuary for the Ligurian varieties of European honey bees. The variety was introduced to Kangaroo Island in the early 1880’s, and the Island was declared a bee sanctuary in 1885. It is believed that Kangaroo Island has the last remaining pure stock of the Ligurian bees (Apis mellifera ligustica).
Natural Propolis Skin Care Cream
Kangaroo Island Natural Skin Care Cream contains unique propolis available only from Kangaroo Island. Daily use of the cream may:
- Improves skin complexion – propolis penetrates the skin and helps to improve blood circulation.
- Moisturising – propolis has moisturising properties helping to revitalise skin and improve skin elasticity.
- Soothing inflamed skin – propolis has mild anti-inflammatory and analgesic actions to relieve itch, burning sensations and irritated skin.
- Restoring damaged skin – after sun exposure and burns.
- Antibacterial and antifungal – propolis provides skin protection against bacterial and fungal infections and assists in the healing of minor abrasions.
Resin Collection
Example of a honeybee collecting plant resin to produce propolis from the seed pod of kangaroo thorn (Acacia paradoxa).
The bee collects the plant resin with its mandibles, then deposits the resin onto its hind legs to carry back to the hive.
Honeybees use plant resins to disinfect their hive and also mix the resin with bee wax to form a pliable mixture called propolis to seal holes cracks in the hive.
Queen Bee
The queen bee is noticeably longer than the worker bees, especially her thorax and abdomen. A healthy queen bee may lay up to 2000 eggs a day and up to one million eggs during her lifetime. The surrounding worker bees take care of the queen and provide her every need.
The queen bee is able to control the sex of each egg she lays. She lays fertilised eggs in small cells in the honey combs to produce worker bees (non-reproductive females) and unfertilised eggs in larger cells to produce drones (males).
A healthy queen bee is continuously emitting pheromones known as queen scent to communicate her presence in the hive to other bees in the colony.
The Propolis
Propolis mat with propolis deposited by honey bees.
Propolis is collected and then graded to select the highest quality raw materials for skin care cream production.