As it turns out, just 7 bee species make honey we humans can eat

Sep 3, 2014 22:55 GMT  ·  By

If you're a big fan of tea, you are probably all too familiar with honey as well. Hence, you've probably spent at least one or two minute of your life wondering how and why bees make honey.

The video below, posted online by the nature enthusiasts at SciShow this just yesterday, answers both these most pressing questions.

As it turns out, bees make honey not because they want to keep tea lovers happy, but because they expect it to serve as a food source for themselves and their newborns during times of hardship.

In order to make honey, they start out by collecting nectar, which they bring to their hive. Here, they spit it into special containers, and mix it with compounds that keep it fresh for long periods of time.

Besides, they help bring down its water content by flapping their wings in order to encourage evaporation. The loss of water, together with the aforementioned compounds, turns nectar into honey.

Interestingly enough, it appears that just 7 bee species make honey that we humans, together with bears and all other animals, can safely eat. The insects in charge of making honey are called forager bees.

Apart from ensuring the hive never goes hungry, forager bees build and defend the hive. Besides, they take care of the queen and raise the little ones.