Today we learned about bees and how honey is made! First, Bees collect nectar from flowers using their long, tube-like tongues. They also visit lots of flowers, sipping small amounts of nectar from each. The bees store the collected nectar in their honey stomach where enzymes begin to break down the complex sugars into simpler ones. Once a bee’s honey stomach is full the bee returns to the hive. Next, back at the hive, the bee passes the nectar to another bee through its mouth. This process is repeated until the nectar is partly digested and the water content is reduced. Honeycomb Storage: The partially digested nectar, now known as honey, is placed into honeycomb cells by worker bees. Bees also fans their wings over the honeycomb cells to speed up the honey so the honey can be made faster, reducing the moisture content of the honey to around 17 18 percent. Sealing the Honeycomb. Once the honey is fully dried out, bees cap the honeycomb cells with beeswax to preserve the honey. Harvesting: Beekeepers can then harvest the honey by collecting the honeycomb frames from the hive and extracting the honey using a centrifugal force process or by crushing and straining the honeycomb. Packaging: Finally, the honey is filtered to remove any remaining particles of wax or other debris and then packaged for sale or consumption. This entire process is incredibly efficient and involves multiple bees working together in a highly organized manner within the hive. The type of flowers from which bees gather nectar contributes to the flavor, color, and aroma of the honey produced.