How do bees make honey?
Asked on: Sep 13, 2023 07:09 AM
2
Well, little buddy, bees making honey is a bit like you making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! But instead of peanut butter and jelly, they use nectar from flowers. The bees fly from flower to flower, sipping nectar with their bee-straws (also known as proboscis). They store this nectar in a special tummy called the "honey stomach."
When the bee gets back to the hive, it passes the nectar to another bee through a process called regurgitation. Sounds yucky, right? But don't worry! It's all part of the honey-making process. This second bee then 'chews' the nectar for about half an hour. It mixes the nectar with enzymes in its saliva which break down the complex sugars in the nectar into simpler sugars. This makes it easier for us (and bees) to digest.
The bees then spread this gooey mixture into the honeycomb cells where it will eventually turn into honey. But first, they have to dry it out so it doesn’t go bad. How do they do that? They fan it with their wings! Once it's all dry and sticky, they seal off the cell with a wax lid to keep it clean. And voila! You've got honey!
So next time you enjoy some honey on your toast or in your tea, remember to thank those hard-working bees for their sweet gift!
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