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What do bees eat?
What do bees eat?
The diet of any kind of animal or insect can majorly influence its activity. For example, the diet of different critters attracts them to the areas and homes that they infest. In this article, we consider the components of the diet of bees. Components of the diet of bees include nectar, pollen, and royal jelly. Let’s consider them in more detail below.
Nectar
Generally, bees love sugary substances and are attracted to them. A major sugary substance that is part of the diet of bees is nectar. Nectar is a sugary substance produced by flowering plants. Bees visit flowering plants for their nectar.
When the worker bees are responsible for foraging visit suitable flowering plants, they collect nectar in a form of storage compartment called the crop. They then go back to their nests and transfer the nectar they collected to other worker bees. They transfer nectar in a process called trophallaxis.
Pollen
Bees also visit flowering plants for pollen. Pollen is a yellowish or greenish powdery substance that contains a lot of the nutrients that bees need, including proteins, carbohydrates, and fats and oils. Pollen can easily attach to the hairy bodies of bees. As the bees move within the flower, pollen attaches to their hairs, otherwise known as setae. They could also apply special techniques in releasing the pollen from the flower. Bees have pollen baskets on their hind legs where they can carry pollen back to their nests. Bees could also carry pollen in specialized crops. They mix pollen and nectar together to produce beebread. Larval bees can feed on beebread.
Honey
Larval bees can also feed on honey. Worker bees make honey from nectar. They make honey by subjecting the nectar collected to evaporation. The honey produced is usually stored in cells. Honey bees are the most established honey producers. The workers produce the honey with which they feed the developing larvae. Honey bees could be specially cultivated for their honey-producing abilities. The different honey bees produce honey at varying levels. The production of honey by honey bees is dependent on features such as the life cycle of the bees. After bees make honey, they store it in beeswax for future use.
Royal jelly
Royal jelly is another important component of the diet of developing queen bees. Young, female worker bees produce a white secretion called royal jelly. This royal jelly is fed to larvae that will develop into queens. Larval drones and workers could also be fed royal jelly. However, they only eat royal jelly at the beginning of their larval development. Those that develop into queens feed on royal jelly for the entire period of their larval development.
Sugary foods
Bees are attracted to sugar and sugary substances. Thus, they can eat human foods with a high concentration of sugar. This is why the covering of sugary foods is a major part of efforts for preventing bee infestations. They could be attracted to sugary foods in open areas. For example, they could come around picnics where sugary foods are served. Bees can travel far away from their homes in search of food. The older workers, called foragers, are responsible for finding food sources.
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