honey

A sweet, sticky, confection, formed of partially-digested sugars. Nectar, collected from flowers by foraging worker bees, is returned to the hive, mixed with digestive "saliva" and often a little pollen, and stored in the cells of a wax-like honeycomb to act as a winter food supply for the hive. Combs, with their familiar hexagonal cells, are used for a variety of purposes in the hive, and honeycombs are not always distinct from combs of grubs. Where honey is taken from domestic hives, the beekeeper must replace the the food supply with sugar throughout the winter.

Related category

• BIOCHEMISTRY

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