HOW BEES MAKE HONEY
This process turns nectar into a sticky, sweet substance
WORDS AILSA HARVEY
U nlike many other bees, honeybee species don’t hibernate in winter. Instead they stay active in their hives, but what’s their secret to winter survival? During the coldest months, honeybees cluster together to keep warm and survive on the sweet substance that they’ve been hoarding for weeks in advance. That special substance is honey. All the bees in a hive benefit from the honey haul, but the job of honey production lies with the female worker bees. These forager bees fill their stomachs with nectar from flowers before returning to the hive to convert it into honey. Male honeybees, which make up about ten per cent of the hive population, spend their lives eating this honey before leaving the hive to mate.