Like all living organisms, bees require various nutrients in order to thrive; particularly carbohydrates (primarily from nectar) and proteins.
Worker bees collect nectar from flowers as they forage. After returning to their hive, worker bees convert it into honey by reducing its water content before storing it away in special cells.
Contents
Nectar
Nectar is an irresistibly sweet liquid food source for bees. The sugars it contains (typically sucrose but occasionally fructose and glucose) provide them with energy to fly, forage and complete their many duties around their hives.
Flowers produce nectar in special structures called nectaries, with each species producing its own blend of water, sugar, amino acids and other substances designed to attract pollinating animals such as hummingbirds or passerine birds. Hummingbird-dependent plants produce nectar with greater viscous content while those targeted at generalist passerine birds typically create less viscous nectar.
Bees nectar not only supplies them with energy but also contains other important nutrients for maintaining a healthy colony. Nectar contains protein from pollen they collect during foraging as well as vitamins and minerals; bees combine nectar with pollen-rich pollen they collect to create bee bread which provides vital nourishment to young larvae of their colony.
Pollen
Pollen is a sticky powder-like substance containing plant sperm that bees transport from flower to flower on setae hair-like structures hung down from their bodies, picking up pollen granules on these structures as they move between flowers. When returning home with their load of pollen granules they deposit them in special storage areas in their hind legs known as pollen baskets – and with each bee carrying around 160,000 pollen granules each time!
Bee pollen is a protein-rich food for bees that provides essential amino acids. Additionally, it also contains various other nutrients, including vitamins and minerals.
Scientists are beginning to gain more of an understanding of what bees require from their diet and how they fulfill it. We know they require carbohydrates and proteins in various amounts depending on season and what’s happening within their hives, fats, lipids and an array of essential fatty acids and micronutrients for good health – when any one or more of these nutrients is lacking from one’s diet it becomes poor at foraging and fails to perform its characteristic waggle dance to lead other bees to an appropriate source of sustenance.
Honey
Nectar is a sweet liquid composed of sugars like glucose and fructose, water, protein, and amino acids that bees transform into honey for future consumption in their hive. Honey provides bees with energy-rich food sources as its simple sugars can easily be broken down for use as energy sources.
Bees are drawn to sugary treats like picnics, backyard barbeques and soft drink cans, making their presence known by swarming around picnics, backyard barbecues and soft drink cans. Bees collect sticky resin from trees which is processed into propolis as building material or to plug unwanted openings within their hive and keep mice out.
Bees require carbohydrates, proteins and fats in various proportions depending on the season or situation in their hive, for instance queen bumble bees require more proteins and fat than workers in order to support egg laying duties. When colony life becomes precarious or under attack by predatory bees, foraging bees may even eat their own eggs or larva as an emergency measure in order to bolster nutritional supplies.
Other Foods
Honey and pollen are bees’ primary food sources, providing carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Honey also acts as a moisture source in their hive; bees collect nectar to reduce its water content before storing it away for later consumption in honeycomb cells within their home hive.
Bees gather resin from trees and plants to produce propolis, which they then use to seal cracks and crevices within their hives. Bees may also consume small insects as protein sources.
Experiments conducted to determine bee nutritional needs have revealed that their food preferences shift with seasons and what’s happening in their hives; bees know when their diet needs improvement, so they quickly take measures to remedy it.
