While “bees” often bring honey to mind, only a small fraction of the over 20,000 bee species produce and store significant quantities of this sweet substance. Understanding which bees make honey, and why, reveals a complex biological strategy for colony survival.
The Honey-Producing Bees
The bees primarily responsible for honey production belong to the genus Apis, commonly known as honey bees. The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most globally recognized and widely managed species, valued for its honey yields and role in agricultural pollination.
While Apis mellifera is predominant, other Apis species also produce honey. These include the Eastern honey bee (Apis cerana), domesticated in parts of South, Southeast, and East Asia, and giant honey bees (Apis dorsata), known for building large, exposed combs. Dwarf honey bees (Apis florea and Apis andreniformis) store honey in smaller quantities. These species are distinguished by their eusocial behavior, forming large, cooperative colonies that collectively produce and store honey.
The Purpose of Honey in the Hive
Honey serves as the primary energy source and stored food supply for an entire honey bee colony. This carbohydrate-rich substance fuels adult bees’ flight muscles and provides warmth, especially during colder months. During winter, worker bees and the queen form a tight cluster, metabolizing honey to generate heat and maintain the hive’s temperature, ensuring colony survival.
Beyond sustaining adult bees, honey is crucial for new generations. It nourishes developing larvae and supports the queen’s continuous egg-laying. Stored honey acts as a vital reserve during nectar scarcity, allowing the colony to persist when fresh floral resources are unavailable. This strategic food storage is a key adaptation for perennial honey bee colonies, enabling them to endure challenging environmental conditions.
The Process of Honey Creation
The transformation of flower nectar into honey is an intricate process carried out by worker bees. It begins with foraging bees collecting nectar, a sugary liquid, using their long, straw-like tongues. The collected nectar is stored in a specialized internal organ called the “honey stomach” or crop, which is separate from their digestive stomach.
Upon returning to the hive, the foraging bee regurgitates nectar and passes it to younger “house bees” through trophallaxis, or mouth-to-mouth transfer. During these transfers, house bees add enzymes, such as invertase, which break down complex sugars (sucrose) into simpler sugars like glucose and fructose.
The partially processed nectar is then spread into the hexagonal cells of the honeycomb. To reduce the water content, worker bees fan their wings vigorously over the cells. This fanning creates air currents that evaporate excess moisture, concentrating the sugars and transforming the watery nectar into thick, viscous honey. Once the honey reaches the desired moisture level, bees cap the cells with a layer of beeswax, sealing the mature honey for long-term storage.
The Diversity of Bee Species
The world is home to over 20,000 bee species, yet only a small percentage produce honey. While Apis honey bees are renowned for their large stores, most other bee species have different strategies for provisioning their offspring and surviving.
Bumblebees (Bombus genus) are social bees that produce and store small amounts of nectar or “bee bread” in wax pots, but not the vast quantities of long-term honey seen in honey bee colonies. Their colonies are annual, with only the queen surviving winter, negating the need for extensive food reserves.
Solitary bees, such as mason bees and leafcutter bees, represent the vast majority of bee species and do not produce honey. Female solitary bees provision individual nests with pollen and nectar directly for their offspring. Each larva receives its own one-time food supply, with no communal honey storage. These diverse life cycles highlight the specialized nature of honey production within the bee family.