Honey from honeybees and other insects

Abstract

Honey can be stored without risk of spoilage, by social insects that produce it from the nectar or honeydew they collect from living plants. The insects include all Apis spp. (Apinae), almost all Meliponinae, all Bombus (Bombinae), honey wasps in the Polistinae, and honey ants in the Formicinae and Dolichoderinae. The production of honey involves the activity of secreted invertase and glucose oxidase, and a table indicates enzyme activities in 14 of the honey-producing species or genera.