Why Honey Isn’t Bee Vomit
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“Honey is sooooooo gross cause it’s bee vomit.”
If you do beekeeping presentations, sooner or later you’ll hear this (especially when 14 year olds are present). Others in the room - mostly the grownups - will start glancing around suspiciously, and it’s clear what they are thinking; “Oh my. Maybe honey really is bee vomit.”
No. Honey is not bee vomit. Here’s how it works.
Human beings ( including fourteen-year-olds) vomit when involuntary reverse muscle spasms cause partially digested food/drink to spew out the nose and mouth. This upchucking happens because humans have only one stomach and no safety valve. Not so with honey bees.
The honey bee’s digestive system has three parts - a Foregut, a Midgut, and a Hindgut. Simply put, the Foregut – also called the Honey Crop - is for temporary storage only: not digestion. Digestion happens in the Midgut. And just in case you are wondering, the Hindgut makes poop and honey bees don’t pee.
Honey is the main food source for mature honey bees They need the carbohydrates. Plant nectar (not pollen) is the primary ingredient of honey. Typically, a foraging honey bee sucks nectar from blossoms. This nectar goes into the Honey Crop where it is held until either: A) the honey bee gets back to the Hive; or B) the honey bee needs a snack.
When the honey bee gets home, she passes any nectar she’s holding in her Honey Crop to other bees inside the hive where the honey-making process can be completed. In this bee-to-bee-nectar-transfer, bee barfing is not involved. On the other hand, if the bee needs nourishment before she gets back to the hive (or anytime, for that matter), here’s what happens.
Honey bee anatomy comes with a nifty structure called the proventriculus which is a one-way valve positioned between the Honey Crop (nectar storage) and he Midgut (digestion). The honey bee eats by pushing a small amount of nectar out of the Honey Crop through the proventriculus into the Midgut. The Midgut digestive system breaks nectar down into nutrients the honey bee can use. Because the proventriculus is a one-way valve only, no partially digested food can ever backwash, and mix with clean nectar in Honey Crop. Ergo, honey is not bee vomit.
Honey Bee Digestive System
Honey Bee’s Honey Crop
