You learned in topic 3 that worker bees collect nectar from flowers. The field bees drink the nectar from the flowers with their proboscis. They store it in their honey sacs to take back to the hive. At the hive they pass the nectar into the mouths of other worker bees. These worker bees then put the nectar into cells.

When you look in the cells of your hive and see a clear liquid, this is nectar. If you tip a frame over that has nectar in it, the nectar will fall out. This is because the nectar has a large amount of water in it. Nectar is 80% water, 18% sugar and 2% other nutrients. Before the worker bees can use the nectar they must change it into honey.

To change the nectar into honey the worker bees must take out some of the water. They do this in two ways:

1. Worker bees put small amounts of the nectar into many cells. They spread it out so it can dry out quickly.
2. Other worker bees fan the nectar so the water leaves or evaporates out of the nectar. The water goes into the air. This is called evaporation. This must be done because honey with too much water in it will spoil. Honey is 19% water, 75% sugar and 6% other nutrients. Honey is thicker than nectar. It will not run or fall out when you turn the frame over and it will not spoil.
3. The worker bee’s body makes a chemical called invertase. The bees add this to the nectar. The invertase changes the sugars in the nectar so that it becomes honey. As the sugar is changed, there is less water in the honey.

When the sugars have been changed and when enough water has been evaporated (taken away), the worker bees put a wax seal (cap) on the honey. This way no water from the air can go back into the honey. You know the honey is ready when it is capped or sealed.