Honey bees, like humans, need carbohydrates and protein to survive, and they get both of these from flowers. The carbohydrates come from flowers’ nectar and the protein comes from pollen. Nectar is the base of all honey – it contains about 80% water, along with complex sugars. If left in its natural state, nectar would ferment, so in order to store the sugars to use during the winter, bees convert the nectar into honey. The hive bee takes the converted honey and caps it off in a beeswax cell, sealing the honey into the honeycomb so they can eat it later.