Is Honey Bee Vomit?
No, honey is not bee vomit. This is a common misconception since like vomit, bees expel honey from their mouths. However, the expulsion of honey involves a process very different from vomiting. Technically, honey is regurgitated, not vomited.
In this article, we’ll learn more about why honey isn’t bee vomit as we discuss the following:
- Why is honey not bee vomit?
- How bees make honey
Why is Honey Not Bee Vomit?
While similar, vomit and regurgitation technically differ. By definition, vomit is matter expelled from the stomach. In contrast, regurgitation involves the expulsion of contents from the esophagus.
This is a key distinction as honey isn’t expelled from the stomach. It’s expelled from the crop.
This crop is a specialized organ in the bee’s esophagus. It’s otherwise known as the honey stomach but isn’t used for digestion. Instead, it’s designed for storing nectar until it’s taken back to the hive and regurgitated.
Simply put, the nectar used to make honey never actually makes it to the digestive stomach. It doesn’t undergo digestion and thus, is inaccurate to call vomit.
The Digestive Stomach
Bees have a digestive stomach called the ventriculus or mid-gut. This stomach occurs after the crop and is separated from it by the proventriculus. [1]
This proventriculus is an organ that regulates the opening between the two stomachs. It’s also a one-way valve. Meaning, food that enters the ventriculus can’t go ack to the crop much more out of the mouth. It’s technically impossible for bees to vomit.
How Do Bees Make Honey?
Honey-making is a multi-step process. It starts with bees collecting nectar from flowers using their mouthparts.
From these mouthparts, the nectar then makes its way and gets stored in the crop or honey stomach. While there, enzymes break down the nectar into simple sugars.
When the bees get back to the hive, they regurgitate the nectar and pass it on to house bees via trophallaxis. These house bees then deposit the nectar into the honeycomb cells.
Afterward, the bees fan the honeycomb with their wings to remove extra water from the nectar. When most of the water has evaporated, the bees seal the honeycomb with a wax capping.
Once sealed, the honey can last indefinitely for bees to feed on as needed.
Related Questions
How Many Stomachs Does a Bee Have?
Bees have two stomachs, one for digestion and one for storing nectar. As you already know the latter is called the honey stomach or the crop. This honey stomach serves as a storage organ until it’s processed into honey.
The digestive stomach, on the other hand, is called the ventriculus. This stomach occurs after the honey stomach. It’s responsible for breaking down food and extracting nutrients.
These 2 stomachs are separated by a valve. This valve ensures that nectar does not mix with digested food. This separation allows bees to produce honey without affecting digestion.
What Happens to the Nectar in the Honey Stomach?
The nectar in the honey stomach is broken down by the enzyme invertase. This enzyme converts sucrose into the simpler sugars glucose and fructose.
Is Honey Bee Poop?
No honey, is not bee poop. Similar to vomit, poop involves digested food. Honey, again, never makes it to the digestive stomach and therefore, can’t be poop.
Summary: Is Honey Bee Vomit?
To summarize, no honey is not bee vomit. Vomit is defined as matter expelled from the stomach. Honey never makes it to the digestive stomach. It only gets stored in the honey stomach or crop. While it’s called a honey stomach, it’s actually part of the esophagus. Therefore, honey is technically expelled from the esophagus or regurgitated.
