Why do bees make honey?
Bees make honey to store food for the colony, especially for winter when there are no flowers. Honey gives them energy when they cannot collect fresh nectar.
Worker bees collect nectar, a sugary liquid, from flowers. Back at the hive, they pass it between bees and add enzymes that break down its sugars. They store it in wax cells and fan it with their wings to evaporate water until it becomes thick honey, then seal it with wax.
A strong honeybee colony may store more honey than it needs, which is why beekeepers can harvest the extra. In winter, bees cluster together and eat stored honey to produce heat and survive.
Busy workers
To make one kilogram of honey, bees may visit millions of flowers. While collecting nectar, they also carry pollen between flowers, pollinating many of the crops people eat.
Honey hardly ever spoils because it contains very little water and is slightly acidic, which makes it hard for bacteria to grow. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that were thousands of years old. Honey can crystallize over time, but gently warming the jar turns it back into a smooth liquid.
Did You Know?
Only some bees make honey in large amounts. Most of the world's 20,000 or so bee species live alone and do not store honey.