Learning About "Bee Spit" (Honey)

Today we studied about honey bees and how they make honey. Maddy and Kenna love honey and they were all into the process...until they learned that honey was "bee spit". They were a little grossed out, but love honey so much decided that they'd still keep eating it!

There are 3 kinds of honeybees in the hive:  the female worker bees, the male drones, and the queen.

First, a worker bee finds a nectar source then goes back to the hive to tell the other bees where the flowers are. To communicate this information, the little bee will do a dance. The worker bees join in, learning where to fly to find the nectar source.

When the bees find the flowers, they go to work drinking in the nectar. They carry the nectar back to the hive, where they spit it back out into the honeycomb sections. Then they cover it with a special substance to keep it clean.

For the honey for form, 2 things happen:  A bee produces an enzyme that turns the sucrose (a sugar) in the nectar into glucose (an energy source sugar and carbohydrate component) and fructose (another type of simple sugar). Another enzyme produced by the bee turns some of the glucose into an acid and hydrogen peroxide, which kills any bacteria that might get into the honey. The second thing is to get rid of the extra water. Most of the moisture has to be evaporated, then fanning it with their wings.

Honey is a very stable food. One of nature's perfect foods. It naturally resists molds, fungi, and other bacteria. Honey can be stored for years without refrigeration.


Learn more about bees at these websites:

Amazing Bees

Big Oven: A Kid's Guide To Honey