Abiodun Azam

As a beekeeper, I see the food cycle up close. It's a story of transformation. The foragers are the field agents, collecting the raw ingredients. Back at the hive, the house bees are the chefs. They take the nectar and through a process of regurgitation, enzyme addition, and fanning to reduce moisture, they create honey. They take the pollen pellets, pack them into cells, and add a bit of honey and enzymes, allowing it to ferment slightly into "bee bread," which is more digestible and nutritious. This entire operation is to create a surplus. A strong hive can produce far more honey than it needs—that's the surplus we beekeepers harvest, always making sure to leave plenty for the bees to get through the winter. Their food is their fuel, their medicine, and their air conditioning. It's a incredible system of natural engineering.