How Is Honey Made?

By honey bees, of course. But exactly how do they do it? 

Domesticated honey bees, known by their scientific name Apis mellifera, make most of the commercial honey we eat. 

These tiny creatures do a lot of work to make this sweet concoction. First, they must gather the nectar. As they gather nectar, it is stored in the bee’s crop, or honey stomach. This stomach can hold up to one-third of the bee’s weight. Foragers collecting nectar from flowers add an enzyme (invertase) as they swallow it to fill their honey stomach. The enzyme begins the process of making honey by breaking down the nectar’s complex sugar (sucrose) into simpler sugars (glucose and fructose) within the honey stomach.

Once back in the hive, a forager bee regurgitates her nectar load to special food-handling bees. The food-handling bees carry the nectar in their honey stomachs as they move it to the food storage area in the upper combs of the hive. As they regurgitate the nectar into beeswax cells, they add an additional enzyme (glucose oxidase) to further convert the nectar into honey. The bees also reduce the water content of the nectar by rapidly beating or fanning their wings in the hive. Nectar can contain up to 80 percent water, but the wing-flapping activity in the hive reduces that water content to around 18 percent, making the honey less likely to ferment and spoil.

Bees rely on the honey they make as a food source during the winter months. But commercial beekeepers encourage their honey bees to make more honey than the colony needs by increasing the colony’s numbers and providing enough room in the hive to store incoming nectar.

In north Mississippi, the main honey flow happens between the end of March and early June. In south Mississippi, honey flow can last at least one month longer. This is because nectar sources last longer in central and south Mississippi, allowing honey bees to collect nectar for a longer amount of time in these portions of the state.

Want to buy local honey? Check with your local Extension office. They likely can tell you if there are beekeepers in your area that collect and sell their honey.

Interested in beekeeping? We have a lot of information available through our publications to help you understand what it takes to be a successful beekeeper. 

MSU Extension Publication 3594, “Beginning Beekeeping in Mississippi” introduces you to the basics.

MSU Extension Publication 4136, “HoneyBee Hive Establishment Costs” provides some cost estimates for Mississippians interested in starting hives.

Many areas of the state have local beekeeping associations. These organizations are a great place to ask questions and learn more about beekeeping. Your local Extension agent can help you find one in your area.

You can find other publications by searching our publications catalog by keyword or reaching out to your local Extension agent.