I've heard of royal jelly........are they the same thing?
No propolis and royal jelly are totally different. They are just both very highly regarded.
Propolis has tremendous anti-infection qualities, I just came across an article that at the Univ of Minnesota they are studying it against AIDS and are getting promising results.
http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/Propolis_an_ancient_remedy_may_fight_AIDS.html
Royal Jelly is a "super nutrient" and "fountain of youth". The bees make it from what they gather from the flowers: honey, pollen, but they may actually process it somehow. They use it to feed the Queen Bee, which lives 10 times as long as the worker bees, so maybe there is something to that.
People who take Royal Jelly report feeling better, healthier, more energetic, etc. and is considered an anti-aging for humans too.