"The quintessence of Britishness"

An interesting round-up of problems facing British beekeepers and a swipe at insufficient government support in yesterday's Sunday Observer (UK national newspaper).

But two curious assertions caught my eye: queens, claims the journalist usually fetch £20, but good pedigrees can fetch £500! (That 500 figure is new to me.) And the other:

When in the new hive, the bees start to collect pollen which they then turn into honey. 'Essentially honey is just concentrated pollen with some added bee enzymes,' said Howat.

Methinks poor Mr Howat has been misquoted!

The journalist, Robin McKie, also describes the honeybee as “the quintessence of Britishness”.