The water content of the nectar produced by plants varies. To ensure the preservation of the nectar in the combs, it must be prevented from fermenting. For this, the nectar is converted into honey by the bees, which reduce its water content, thereby increasing its sugar content. This prevents microorganisms from developing in the nectar. Because it is difficult to observe the honeymaking processes between the combs in the darkness of the hive, these processes have hardly been studied. To shed light (or rather, X-rays!) on the transformation of nectar into honey, we used tomography. This technique allows us to study the sugar content of the stored nectar with great precision, with no need to open the hive and disturb the colony.
