How do Bees Make Honey

Honey is a sweet substance, yielded by honey bees from the nectar of the flowers. Nectar is a liquid generated by flowers which is made up of complex sugars and about 80% of water. The collection of nectar is very important as it would further lead to the process of pollination, that is necessary for the flowering plants. It a well-known fact that, honey is sweet, but it gains its sweetness from the monosaccharides, fructose and glucose. It is almost equally sweet as sugar in the granulated form.

How do honey bees make honey?

The above were some of the well-known facts about honey, but the question that comes to your mind is "How do bees make honey"? So here is the answer.

1. The first step in honey making is the gathering of nectar. Bees live in a honey bee hive which they leave when they go in search of nectar. The field bees are also known as the older working bees. The field bee has a tongue that resembles a tube and is called as proboscis. Nectar is sucked by the field bee through this proboscis, which then goes into their honey stomach.
2. Now, once nectar is gathered, these field bees return to their hives wherein the young worker bees suck the nectar through their proboscis from the honey stomach of the field bees.
3. It is now time for the young worker bees that are also called as the house bees to turn the nectar into honey. This is however done by the house bees by working the nectar inside their mouths by utilizing some enzymes that turn the nectar into raw honey. This is done in about 20 minutes
4. The raw honey thus prepared is kept into the cells present in the beehive, by the house bees. Honey at this stage is rich in its water content.
5. Next comes the step, where the honey is ripened. This is done by the honey bees by leaving the cells of the beehive open and by the creation of a strong draft with the aid of their wings. This draft, evaporates the water content out of the honey and therefore ripens it. Even bees remove the water, which is present in honey in the form of droplets. They do this with the help of their mouth.
6. Bees consider the honey as ripened, when the water content is brought down. This ripened honey is protected or secured with the help of wax, that is produced in small sheets under the abdomen of the bee. Once the securing process is done, the honey is ready for use within the colony of the honey bees or for that matter even for human beings.

When do bees start making honey?

Bees make honey as their food source to cope with the food scarcity they might have to face in the cold season. Therefore, the time period when the bees start making honey is the warmer season. The period of bees making honey begins from the early spring and extends till the autumn fall.

Honey is considered to be a cure for some diseases and therefore honey should be preserved carefully. The nutritional value of honey remains intact if stored in a cool and dry place. According to some reports honey bees have become endangered species. The reason behind this is a red little crab like creature called the varroa mite, that attacks the older as well as the younger bees leading to their death. Survival of bees is possible only when the bees are treated for this insect after autumn, when the honey collecting process is stopped. A fact that has been proposed almost 60 years ago says that the absence of bees would result in absence of pollination, that would further lead to absence of plants, animals and therefore humans. Bees are thus very important for the human race. So let us save the bees. Have a Sweet Day!