Bees are not patient foragers. They do not simply fly to the next flower they see. They choose. They compare. And they opt for the flower that offers the best deal.
This offer is nectar. And the quality of the nectar — its density, its sugar content, its mineral composition — depends directly on how well-nourished the plant is. How intensely it performs photosynthesis. How rich the soil is from which it draws its nutrients.
In other words: the bee chooses — and it chooses the higher Brix value.
What nectar is — and where it comes from
Nectar is no accident. It is the carefully formulated incentive that a plant offers a bee — in exchange for pollination.
The composition of nectar largely mirrors plant sap. Nectar is concentrated plant sap — with everything it contains. Sugars, minerals, amino acids, secondary plant compounds. What is in the plant sap ends up in the nectar. What is missing is missing there, too.
This means: A high Brix value in the plant sap — many dissolved substances, high sugar, many minerals — leads to a richer, more attractive nectar. And a poor plant sap with a low Brix value leads to a watery, less attractive nectar.
On warm, dry days, nectar is usually more concentrated and thus has a higher sugar content. This is no coincidence — it is the same effect we know from Brix values: stress and heat concentrate the plant sap. But the decisive factor is not daily stress; it is the plant's fundamental nutrient supply over the entire season.
How bees choose — 110 million years of evolution
Bees and flowers have been evolving together since the Cretaceous period. That is about 110 million years ago. In this long shared history, bees have developed an extraordinarily fine sense for the quality of nectar. They can taste the sugar content of nectar. They can distinguish between amino acids. And they remember the flowers that provided particularly good nectar — and return to them.
Flowers visited by honeybees usually have significantly sweeter nectar than those pollinated by butterflies. This is not an evolutionary accident — it is the result of a very long co-evolution. Bees have learned to prefer flowers that offer the richest nectar. And plants have learned to produce their best nectar exactly when bees are present.
But here lies the problem of our time: when soils are depleted, when plants are chronically undernourished, when the Brix value is low — then the nectar is poor as well. The bee arrives. It finds little. It moves on. The flower remains unpollinated.
The direct connection — Brix value and bee visits
In regenerative agriculture, it is a well-known observation: fields with high Brix values are visited by more bees than fields with low Brix values.
John Kempf — one of the defining figures of regenerative agriculture — has systematically described this connection. Starting at a Brix value of about 7 °Brix, plants begin to become interesting to bees. As the Brix value rises, the plant becomes more attractive — its nectar is richer, its scent more intense, and bee visits become more frequent.
This has a direct economic consequence: better pollination means more fruit set. More fruit set means higher yield. And this has already been observed many times in practice: fields treated with mineral foliar fertilizers that achieved a higher Brix value were visited more intensively by bees — and simultaneously delivered better harvest results.
What nectar really contains — and why it matters for bees
Bees need more than just sugar. They need a complete nutritional package.
In addition to sugar, nectar contains amino acids (essential protein building blocks) that are important for the development of bee brood. It contains minerals and trace elements that are crucial for the bees' immune system. And it contains secondary plant compounds that have antibacterial and antiviral properties — which give honey its healing effects.
All these substances are produced in a plant that performs intense photosynthesis and is well-supplied with minerals. A plant with a high Brix value produces more of these — in the fruit, in the leaf, and indeed in the nectar as well.
This means: bees foraging on nutrient-rich fields with high Brix values produce healthier honey. With more secondary plant compounds, more minerals, and more intense aroma. The same principle that makes food nutrient-dense for humans makes honey nutrient-dense for bees.
Why bee decline and soil depletion are connected
This is a connection that is almost entirely missing from the public discourse on bee decline — even though it is scientifically logical.
When soils become depleted — through one-sided NPK fertilization (fertilizing only with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), intensive tillage, and humus loss — the Brix value of the plants drops. And when the Brix value drops, the quality of the nectar drops.
Bees that collect poor-quality nectar are less well-nourished. Their immune system is weakened. They are more susceptible to parasites, such as the Varroa mite, and to diseases, such as Nosema. They are less able to cope with pesticides because their internal detoxification mechanisms depend on nutrients that are absent in poor nectar.
Bee decline has many causes — pesticides, Varroa mites, habitat loss. But the creeping deterioration in nectar quality due to soil depletion is a cause that is barely discussed. And it is one that we can address directly — through better soil health, through regenerative agriculture, and through higher Brix values on our fields.
What this means for the garden
This is where the connection becomes especially practical.
Anyone who grows plants in their garden and treats them regularly with Grünkraft Calcium — resulting in a higher Brix value, more intense photosynthesis, and more secondary plant compounds — will observe more bees in their garden. Not because they planted specifically "bee-friendly" plants, but because their plants produce better nectar.
A tomato with 12 °Brix attracts more bees than one with 6 °Brix. An apple tree that is well-supplied with calcium produces richer nectar in its blossoms — is better pollinated — and bears more fruit.
This is the circle that completes itself: Healthy soil → vigorous plant → high Brix value → rich nectar → more bees → better pollination → higher yield → healthier food.
Each step reinforces the next. And the first step — healthy, mineral-rich soil — is in our hands.
An observation everyone can make
There is a simple experiment anyone can conduct in their garden.
Take two beds. Treat one with Grünkraft Calcium — every 10 to 14 days, throughout the entire blooming period. Leave the other untreated as a comparison.
And then observe. Not with measuring instruments — just with your eyes. Which bed is visited more? On which flowers are there more bees?
In practice, the answer is always the same. Bees choose. And they choose the higher Brix value.
What the Brix value is and how to measure it yourself — in our Brix article with Reams table and device recommendations.
Why soil health determines the nutrient density of all food — in our article about minerals and degraded soils.
How Grünkraft Calcium increases the Brix value — the complete explanation in our photosynthesis article.
All products for garden and agriculture in our garden collection and agriculture collection.
Sources: Die Honigmacher, Nektar und Bestäubung | Pflanzenforschung.de, Nektarproduktion und Bestäubung | scinexx.de, Bienen und Nektarqualität, MIT-Studie PNAS 2011 | John Kempf, Pflanzenvitalität und Bienenbesuch | Dr. Carey Reams, Brix-Referenztabellen | Vandelook et al., Nectar traits differ between pollination syndromes, Annals of Botany 2019
