When mos people hear how honey is made, they picture something a little gross.

But that picture in your mind is a common misconception.

So how do bees make honey?

And is it what you think it is?

{music] In my work as a local beekeeper and educator, I often get the chance to teach people about bees and honey.

One thing that always surprises folks is how different honey can taste.

The flavor changes depending on the flower that they collect nectar from.

Tulepo, Star Thistle, Orange blossom, Appalachian Wildflower, Virginia Wildflower, Buckwheat, Avocado and Coriander It can be floral, rich and malty and even have a bit of a bitter edge.

Oh Wow, that's a totally different flavor.

It all depends on what's blooming nearby.

Typically, we inspect the hive from the bottom where there's egg and larva and pupae called brood, and there's also the queen.

But today, since I am looking for honey, I am going to inspect this top box which we call the honey super.

The best timing to get honey from a hive is the late spring to early summer.

That's after the bees have completed most of their foraging and hav brought back nectar to the hive from all the flowering plants within their area.

Bees often make honey in surplus, so as long as there's enough honey in the hive for bees to survive the winter, the rest can be harvested.

This frame is full of honey.

Now, there are some spots right here that you can still see it looks like nectar.

It's a little watery looking, if you will.

The bees have to have the nectar at about 18% or less moisture content.

So they'll fan the nectar that looks moist until it gets a little bit drier, gets a little bit viscous, like the honey that we know.

Once they get the nectar to the right moisture content or consistency, then they cap the cell with wax from their abdomen.

Despite what you may have heard, honey isn't technically bee vomit.

Bees have two stomachs, one for digestio and one specifically for nectar.

The nectar they collect from flowers neve touches their digestive tract.

Instead, it' stored in their honey stomach, where mixes with enzymes.

Once back at the hive, bees pass the nectar through a process called trophallaxis, which is a mouth to mouth transfer.

But because it's from the honey stomach and not the digestive system it is separate.

In Central Virginia, where I live, honey bees typically need around 60 to 80 pounds of honey to overwinter successfully.

The exact amount can vary depending on how strong the colony is, how much of a winter we ge and how insulated the hive is.

All right.

I have taken three frames to extract the honey out of and that'll be it for the season.

I'm going to put the inner cover on.

Now that the frames are out of the hive.

It's time to extract the honey.

I recruited my friend and local beekeeper, Mr.

C to help me.

First, we need to cut the excess honey cappings off the frame.

We've got the cappings right here.

and I punched a hole in it so you can see a little bit of honey dripping out.

So when I uncap it that'll be what you be seeing honey coming out here and we will take it as set up here and we'll use this knife and we'll just kind of glide it down.

And this is taking the capping off of the frame of honey.

Once the frames are clean of the cappings, we take the frames an place them into the extractor.

The centrifugal force of the extraction forces the honey into the bucket below.

This bucket also has a filter to strain the honey before bottling.

Now that the honey has been filtered, we are going to start bottling the honey.

So I'm going to use this gate, I'm going to open it up slowly, and the honey is going to run out of here.

Open up the gates.

Here is the honey.

Honey, direct from my neighborhood beekeeper is the best way to continue to support the bee population in your community.

It is packed full of natural florals and flavors and makes a great treat for your bee loving friends and family [music]