Anna Maurizio wrote:

> When the forager reaches the hive, she passes on her load of raw material to a house bee, and it is these house bees who undertake the main task of honey processing. Within a few seconds the drops of the raw material are regurgitated from the honey sac of the house bee, and spread out into a flattish drop by the retroverted proboscis, and then sucked back again. During this process, which is repeated for 15-20 minutes, the drops of raw material are continually mixed with further glandular secretions; at the same time their water content is somewhat reduced. The raw material, containing originally 25-40% dry matter, becomes converted into half-ripe honey, with perhaps 60-65% dry matter. The subsequent ripening of the honey takes place automatically in the cells of the comb, by the evaporation of water in the stream of dry air which constitutes the ventilation system of the hive (Park; Reinhardt). When the honey is properly ripe, containing no more than 20% water, the cells containing it are capped over by the bees. With heather honey this is done at a slightly higher water content, 24-25 %.

Anna Maurizio (1962) From the Raw Material to the Finished Product: Honey, Bee World, 43:3, 66-81

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