Bees dehydrate honey primarily by circulating air within the hive through fanning, which helps moisture evaporate.
The Bee Dehydration Process
To ensure honey is preserved and doesn't ferment, bees reduce its water content significantly. This process is crucial for storing honey long-term. The primary method they use involves creating specific air currents inside the hive.
Based on observations:
- To dry the honey, the bees fan their wings and bring in outside air.
- This new air has a lower relative humidity compared to the air already inside the hive.
- As this incoming air moves through the hive, it is warmed further. This warming is attributed to the collective body heat generated by the many hard-working bees within the colony.
- The result is warm air with low relative humidity, which possesses a high capacity to absorb moisture.
- This moisture is then effectively absorbed from the honey, reducing its water content to the desired level for storage.
In essence, bees act as tiny engineers, using their wings to create a sophisticated ventilation system that leverages differences in air humidity and temperature to pull excess moisture out of the honey, making it ready for capping and storage.
