Honey

Honey is the foodstuff produced by melliferous bees from the nectar of flowers either from the secretions issued from the living parts of plants or from honeydew , that they gather, transform, combine with their own specific substances, store, and leave to mature in honeycombs. In order to attract these necessary gatherers, flowers produce a substance, nectar , a subtle blend of water and sugars secreted by the nectaries (glandular outgrowths generally situated inside the flower). The gatherer bee draws up the nectar with its proboscis and stores it away in its crop, (where the natural enzymes contained in its saliva become active), and carries it to the hive. As with nectar, bees gather honeydew , that they transform in the same way into honey. More complex than nectar, honeydew is produced through an intermediary, generally an aphid : the aphid pierces the plant, feeds from the sap and rejects the surplus in the shape of sweetened droplets that settle on the leaves. The plants and trees that host these aphids, such as fir trees, spruces, oaks, maples, limes but also wheats, are thus important sources of honey.