You can also view previously answered questions in the HSW Question Archive . Answer A honeybee starts the honey making process by visiting a flower and gathering some of its nectar. In the process of gathering nectar, the insect transfers pollen grains from one flower to another and pollinates the flower.
Nectars can contain other beneficial substances as well.
See How Food Works for a discussion of food enymes and sacchrides. A small amount of the glucose is attacked by a second enzyme, glucose oxidase, and converted into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. The gluconic acid makes honey an acid medium with a low pH that is inhospit able to bacteria, mold, and fungi, organisms we call microbes, while the hydrogen peroxide gives short-range protection against these same organisms when the honey is ripening or is diluted for larval food. Honey bees also reduce the moisture content of nectar, which gives it a high osmotic pressure and protection against microbes. The effect is to make honey a very stable food.