Winter and the Bee

I get asked why bees produce Honey and my answer is that bees like bears hibernate through winter and thus they need to have an accessible food source. So they have developed a method of both creating a food that won’t go off and a means to store it. Bees through spring and summer, will collect nectar and turn it into honey this is done so they have enough food to take them through winter. However our friend the bee never knows when enough is enough and thus as a beekeeper I’m able to take honey and they still always have enough for themselves. Our aim as beekeepers is always to look after our bees and then ourselves. So taking honey only happens when there is plenty of nectar coming into the hive and conditions are right for the bees to turn it into honey.