I have an rc-bumblebee ! ! !

That's a first...

...Bumble - properly named Humble - bees don't collect honey.

For honey gathering you need Honey Bees - Apis Mellifera.

I have often considered trying to make a R/C version.

According to aerodynamicists, Bumble bees can't fly...

...they haven't read the books so don't know that.

Sorry to be pedantic, but I kept bees - the honey variety - for over 25 years before the onset of arthritis made it problematical - another theory debunked!

Malcolm

That's not ENTIRELY accurate, bees do not "collect" honey they actually collect nectar and pollen and MAKE the honey Honey: "A sweet yellowish or brownish viscid fluid produced by various bees from the nectar of flowers and used as food."

Agreed - bees don't "collect" honey. They gather nectar and reduce the water content from around 80% to 20% and also add some type of enzyme. The concentrated "nectar" becomes what we know as honey and is the food for the adult bees.

The pollen gathering is to provide protein for the brood (larvae). This is mixed with some of the honey which is an energy source.

Wish there was some cheap and easy way of converting this energy source into one for my model engines.:-)))

Malcolm

Actually, I thought bees MADE honey (bee vomit) but collected nectar.

Unfortunately, trolls collect replies. Like this one... Oh well.

At the risk of being labelled "know all" I'll try to explain the origin of the term "bee vomit".

Honeybees have an extra chamber known as the "honey sack". It forms part of their digestive tract but is used for the transport of nectar. (If the bee needs it, for energy, some nectar can be passed into the digestive system proper.) On returning to the hive the nectar is regurgitated into a cell in the honey comb - hence "bee vomit". It is not true vomit because it has never been even partially digested since it doesn't get as far as the bees' equivalent of our stomach. I believe that it is while the nectar is in the "honey sack" ( sometimes also known as "honey stomach") that the enzymes are added.

Although it is known that honey is basically a solution of sugars, as far as I know, man has not yet managed to synthesize it.

Honey lover, Malcolm.