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Honey bees turn nectar produced by flowers into honey. Nectar plays an important role in pollination by helping flowering plants attract creatures such as insects and birds. Nectar is secreted by structures called nectaria in flowering plants. The main source of nectar is the nutrients formed as a result of photosynthesis. Nectar largely consists of sucrose, fructose and glucose. In addition to sugar, it contains substances such as amino acid, lipid, organic acid. The type and amount of substances in the structure of nectar varies from plant to plant.
The collecting bees store the nectar they collect from the flowers in the area called honey stomach in their bodies. Some enzymes secreted in this process cause disaccharides (especially sucrose) in the structure of nectar to break down into monosaccharides (glucose and fructose).
The collecting bees transfer the nectar they collected to the worker bees in the hive. The worker bees in the hive take out the nectar they receive from the collecting bees for about 15-20 minutes and drink it again. In this process, enzyme-containing secretions continue to mix with nectar and sucrose in the structure of nectar turn into glucose and fructose. Then the bees in the hive transfer the nectar to the honeycombs.
One of the most important features of honey is that its water content is very low. The worker bees in the hive flaps their wings and ventilate the hive, which causes the excess water in the nectar collected in honeycombs to evaporate. Thus, while the rate of water in nectar secreted by plants is 80%, this rate drops below 20% in honey. The conversion of nectar to honey takes 1-3 days.
Honey is a weak acid substance. The reason for this is organic acids such as gluconic acid in its structure. The taste and smell of honey depends on easily volatile organic materials. So, honey is not bee vomit or spit.