In the wild, the queen bee can live for several years, but in commercial beekeeping she could be killed and replaced every 6 months. Her wings are clipped to prevent swarming (the natural method for a colony to reproduce itself). New queens are mass produced and artificially inseminated using sperm from crushed males.

Bees swallow nectar and then regurgitate it, resulting in honey, which is fed their young. Individual bee lives are short but a colony can continue for many years. Most commercially run colonies are killed before winter to avoid feeding them. If they are kept alive over the winter, the young are fed sugar candy or syrup instead of honey.

Beeswax is secreted by glands on the underbelly of the bee and is produced to build homes for bee food reserves. Honey and beeswax are both used in food, cosmetics, toiletries, candles and polishes are easily replaceable by alternatives. Other bee products such as propolis, pollen, royal jelly  and venom are marketed with doubtful health-giving benefits.

Human bodies do not need any of the products bees produce.