How Honey Bee Collect Honey From Flowers

 The secret of "honey bees" and "honey" that collect nectar from trees and flowers in the forest

Only one teaspoon of honey is collected by one bee in a lifetime. Let's explore such precious honey and its producer, the honey bee.

Relationship between bees and plants

"Manuka honey" has been attracting attention recently. "Propolis" is a popular health food. Beeswax is used in cosmetic lipsticks and creams. These are all made by bees. There are many things that bees make, but this time let's dig a little deeper into "honey."

About 100 million years ago, "angiosperms" that bloom beautiful flowers emerged. By attracting insects with "flowers" that have beautiful colors, shapes, scents, and sweet nectar, and having them help pollination, they gain strong fertility.

There is a "gymnosperm" that is paired with the "angiosperm", but since it pollinates by the wind, it is not as fertile as the angiosperm. Angiosperms have come to follow the path of "co-evolution" in which they evolve and reproduce while forming a symbiotic relationship with insects.

Creatures that carry pollen and help pollinate plants are called "pollinators", and the leading role is honeybees. "Nectar" is prepared by flowers as a reward for carrying pollen, and "honey" is stored in the nest by bees.

What kind of insect is a bee?

Among insects, honeybees belong to the same "Hymenoptera" as ants and feed on nectar. Nine species are known in the world, such as Apis cerana japonica and Apis cerana japonica, and the Japanese native honey bee is a subspecies of Apis cerana japonica.

Western honey bees imported from the West in the Meiji era originated in Europe, Africa, and Central Asia, and have been improved as "livestock" since the 19th century. Most beekeepers now have honeybees because they are easy to breed and produce a lot of nectar.

What kind of tree do bees collect nectar from?

It seems that there are about 4,000 kinds of honey source and pollen source plants in the world. Popularly, Western honey bees are called "Savannah honey bees" and Apis cerana bees are called "Forest honey bees". We are collecting honey in the forest.

Bees collect "honey" from flowers, which is different from "honey". The nectar brought back to the nest has a water content of about 70% and a sugar content of about 40%. "Honey" is made by "processing" this. The sucrose is decomposed into glucose and fructose by the action of enzymes by blowing the wind with its wings to remove water, and it becomes a delicious "honey" rich in vitamins and minerals.

Honey useful as a medicine

"Honey" contains high concentrations of sugar and enzymes, and has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. In ancient Egypt, there is a record that it was used for surgery. It has also been used as a folk remedy in Japan to treat infectious diseases and mouth ulcers.

"Honey" is registered as a medicine (herbal medicine) in the "Japanese Pharmacopoeia" of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. As an effect and usage, it is stated that "soak cotton wool, gauze, etc. in lips cracks, etc., or apply to the affected area with clean fingers. In addition, use an appropriate amount as it is or dilute it as an appropriate amount as a nourishing and sweetener."

Since it is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes and polyphenols, it has high beauty effects such as anti-aging and beautiful skin, and it is also a diet ally because it has lower calories and stronger sweetness than sugar. It also has a bactericidal action and has the ability to accelerate the healing of wounds, so it is also used as a remedy for minor wounds, burns, and mouth ulcers. In addition to the well-known cough suppressant, the oligosaccharides contained in "honey" can be expected to be effective in relieving constipation.

"Honey" that depends on the flower

"Honey" has different tastes and colors depending on which flower the nectar was collected from. The most popular item is astragalus honey, which is characterized by a faint floral scent, pale color, and a mellow taste. Acacia honey is also popular because it has a mild sweetness and is easy to eat, and it does not easily crystallize in winter.

By the way, "Manuka honey" has been attracting attention in recent years. It is made from the flowers of Manuka, a shrub of the Myrtaceae family that grows naturally in New Zealand, and the indigenous Maori people named it "Manuka", which means "Resurrection Tree" because of its excellent medicinal properties. It contains a bactericidal component called "methylglyoxal" that is not found in other "honey", and is known to improve the intestinal environment and relieve symptoms such as colds and influenza.

History of "beekeeping"

Human beings who have used "honey" in various forms since ancient times. There is also a 10,000-year-old mural depicting a woman picking "honey" from a beehive.

Beekeeping became popular in Europe around the Middle Ages. Beekeeping has been practiced in monasteries and other places because beeswax was needed for candles used in churches and "honey" was used as a medicine.

By the way, unlike honeybees, which have coexisted with humans as livestock for a long time, wasps are very dangerous even among the same bees. Depending on your constitution, a wasp sting can cause anaphylactic shock and, in the worst case, death. Be especially careful during the season when the size of the nest grows from summer to autumn. Even if the bee is a bee, please keep away from the hornet's nest. And one more. Bees are very beneficial to us humans, but of course they can sting people and there are dangerous species, so even though they are useful bees that make precious "honey", actions such as stimulating them are not possible. Let's avoid it.