honey
Sign in to saveHoney is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primarily floral nectar) or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.
AI overview
Honey is a sweet, thick substance that bees make by collecting nectar from flowers and other plant secretions, then refining them through regurgitation and enzymes both inside their bodies and in the hive. Bees produce and store honey to feed their colonies, concentrating the sugars through water evaporation until it reaches its final thick form.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- organic matter
- Material used
- water
- Image
- Runny hunny.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- P910
- Category:Honey
- P2079
- gathering
- P1552
- viscosity
- P366
- medicine
- P1582
- Apis
Article
46 sectionsContents
- Formation
- By honey bees
- By other insects
- Human intervention
- Production
- Collection
- Preservation
- Adulteration
- Production
- Modern uses
- Food
- Fermentation
- Physical and chemical properties
- Phase transitions
- Rheology
- Electrical and optical properties
- Hygroscopy and fermentation
- Thermal characteristics
- Acid content and flavor effects
- Volatile organic compounds
- Classification
- Plant source
- Monofloral
- Polyfloral
- Honeydew honey
- Classification by packaging and processing
- Grading
- Indicators of quality
- Nutrition
- Sugar profile
- Medical use and research
- Wounds and burns
- Antibiotic
- Cough
- Other
- Health hazards
- Botulism
- Toxic honey
- Folk medicine
- History
- Religious significance
- Popular culture
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primarily floral nectar) or the secretions of other insects, like the honeydew of aphids. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through regurgitation and enzymatic activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.
Honey bees stockpile honey in the hive. Within the hive is a structure made from wax called honeycomb. The honeycomb is made up of hundreds or thousands of hexagonal cells, into which the bees regurgitate honey for storage. Other honey-producing species of bee store the substance in different structures, such as the pots made of wax and resin used by the stingless bee.