Like any living creature, insects need food for nourishment. Some rely on plants for food and others are hunters that prey on other insects. So, what do bees eat to sustain life and prosper? In the case of members of a hive, honey may be your first answer. But, the truth is more complex. Let’s explore the basic facts about food collection and the foods make up the bee diet.
Do All Bees Eat Honey?
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First, let’s understand that not all insects are bees. You will find many different species of insects in your backyard. Of course, honey and bumble bees are the most easily recognized and they do have a similar diet.
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Both of these bees eat honey made from plant nectar and gather pollen as sources of protein. But, not all are noted honey producers.
The different life styles of each insect family explains why one relies on stored food and the other does not.
Bumble bee queens hibernate alone – they do not need large stores of food to feed a family in Winter. In very early Spring, the bumble queens come out looking for food. They are ready to start a new nest.
Honey bees work hard during the warm months. Every day members of the colony collect food resources needed to sustain life.
Beyond energy for daily requirements, they must work together to store food for the cold months ahead. Otherwise, the colony will not survive Winter.
Unlike most insects, honeybees over winter as a large group. During the cold days of Winter, few flowers are in bloom to provide nectar. And even if something is in bloom, it may be too cold for insects to fly!
Stored food is the treasure that sustains the colony until warm weather returns. How is this done? Where do they get the carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals needed for survival and growth? It is all about planning and these industrious insects are pretty good planners.
Collecting Nectar and Pollen
You will see many types of insects collecting nectar and pollen. It is not only bees who search out these food sources.
Even members of the wasp family enjoy a bit of sweet nectar. That’s why they want to share a sip of your cola or other liquid sweets at the Summer picnic. But, sugary liquid is not the primary diet of all insects.
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Flowers and bees have a long standing relationship due to the need for pollination. Many blooming plants provide pollen or nectar to attract insect visits – some provide both.
As foraging workers gather sweet nectar from flowers, they may enjoy a sip if they are hungry. But, in general bees do not eat nectar. Their primary goal is to return to the hive and convert the nectar into honey.
Drones are the males in the colony. They do no work and are only their to provide reproduction services. They do not take part in gathering food but drones will eat honey from an open cell or beg for a handout.
Bees that Do Eat Honey
Honey is the primary food source for adult honey bees. Fresh plant nectar has a high moisture content, it is not suited for long term storage.
But, nectar is converted into thick, low moisture honey. Honey is a perfect food for over-winter storage.
Sometimes, if nectar availability is low, workers collect honey dew. Honeydew is the sweet secretions of other insects such as aphids. These insect secretions are made it into honeydew honey (or at least a honey-like substance).
Bumbles also produce a small amount of honey from collected nectar. It is stored in little structures called “honey pots” in their nest. It is used during the warm season.
However, storing food in large amounts is not a practice that other types of insects use for survival. Only in a beehive should you expect to find it in large amounts.
Why Bees Eat Pollen
Pollen is a rich source of proteins, fats and lipids. Several insects harvest pollen in structures called “pollen baskets” located on their hind legs. Bumbles collect pollen and mix with with nectar and honey to be fed to their developing young.
Honey bees eat stored pollen in the form of bee bread. Bee bread is a mixture of pollen, honey and saliva containing enzymes. Even though they have strong mandibles – bees do not have teeth to chew up fresh pollen grains.
This fermentation makes digestion of the pollen protein easier. It also keeps the protein from spoiling while it is stored in the comb.
Young female workers consume more pollen than others in the hive. This enables them to produce food for the brood in the colony.
However, not every member of the colony eats pollen every day. Older adults who are not feeding young do not need this extra protein.
Protein for Non Bee Insects
Members of the wasp family are often included in the “bee” category. Of course, they do not belong there – as they are more like cousins than close family.
In spite of a sip of sweet nectar, they are not collectors of nectar or pollen. They are hunters and prey on other insects for their protein needs. Wasps and hornets, eat other insects – including honey bees.
The Honey Bee Diet
You may be surprised to learn that the individual bee diets in a colony can vary a lot over time. The exact diet on a daily basis depends on the species, age of the bee and availability of food resources.
Bee Brood Diet
Developing young consume brood food that is produced by nurses. Brood food refers to secretions from special glands located inside the mouth of workers.
This white substance can be seen in the individual beeswax cells. It contains all the nutrients needed for fast growing bee larvae.
These workers serving as nurses consume large amounts of pollen to enable production of different types of liquid food. They make the proper mix depending on the needs of the larva that are being fed.
Worker bee larva are fed according to their future role. If the colony wants to make a new queen bee, a special diet is used.
Once adults reach the age of a forager, their jobs inside the hive are done. They are no longer capable of digesting pollen. From that time on, adult members of the hive only eat honey and nectar.
Queen Honey Bees Eat a Special Diet
All young bee larvae eat royal jelly for the first 3 days. After that time, worker larvae consume bee bread and honey until the larval stage ends.
If the colony is preparing to swarm, or needs a new queen for any reason, some of the female larva are selected as future queens and fed a special diet.
For years, we have called this special queen food “royal jelly”. Royal Jelly is a milky secretion produced by the hypopharyngeal glands located in the sides of the head of young adults.
Now researchers are questioning the exact composition of the food fed when rearing queens. Is royal jelly truly the compound responsible for queen development?
We know royal jelly is on the menu for developing queens. But, it may not be the only thing that helps a female larva become a queen.
Adult queens do not eat honey as a rule. They are fed the most nutritious substances possible. Royal jelly and similar foods are so pure they result in very few waste products from the queen. This special queen bee food contributes to her longevity. Queens can live much longer than workers.
Honey Bees are Not Strict Vegetarians
Honey bees do not eat meat. They do not prey on other insects. However, they are not “strict” vegetarians.
If the colony is nearing starvation, workers will eat bee eggs and larva. This is a last ditch effort to use any resources available to save the colony.
Carpenter and Bumble Bees
These two insects are easily confused, especially in the case of large bumble bee species. Bumble bees eat most of the same things as honey bees. They collect pollen from flowers as a protein source. And, they collect sweet plant nectar.
The main difference is that they do not make large quantities of honey to store. Due to their larger size, bumble bees are often the more efficient pollinator. They also have a longer tongue that can reach deep down into tube-like blooms!
Carpenter Bees Destroy Wood
Honey bees do not eat wood. However, some insects will bore into wooden structures to make nests. Primarily these large insects are Carpenter bees.
Carpenter bees are a big problem around my old barn. Their nesting tunnels can be quite destructive to outdoor decks and porches. They really do not eat wood either but they do build their nest in wood and raise young there.
Bees Need Water
Insects do drink water. Honey bees collect water as it is needed. It is not stored in the honeycomb of the hive for future use.
Water is used to thin thick honey and control the humidity and temperature inside the hive. Along with good hive ventilation, a sufficient water source is important for any beehive.
Even non-beekeepers have fun providing water for insects. Some enjoy making they own garden bee waterer and seeing which insects come to drink. You will find many types of insects, butterflies, wasps and other pollinators visiting your water source.
What do Bees Eat When We Take Their Honey?
Continuing to work as long as there is food to collect, a bee colony can fill several boxes of honey in a season. This is more stored honey than most bee colonies need for winter survival.
Beekeepers add extra boxes to the hives in hopes for a harvest. After the colony has filled boxes for themselves, we get the extra honey harvest.
Conscientious beekeepers know how much stored honey is needed by their colony for winter. We take only the excess. This assures the honey bee colony of having enough food for winter.
Providing Food for Bees
Most members of the insect family share some common food sources. However, there is a lot of diversity as well.
Given good foraging conditions, honey and pollen seems to be the big winners in the tale of things that bees eat consistently. When the first honey bees were brought to the US by early colonists, they didn’t have to be told what to do. They instinctively went to work gathering nectar and pollen.
But other insects will appreciate some nectar and pollen rich food sources in your backyard. That is why we should never miss the opportunity to offer a diverse selections of flowering plants where possible. You can even get the kids involved in planting wildflowers for bees. It can be a great family project.
FAQs
What is a bee’s favorite food?
Most bees eat nectar and pollen. Both are gathered from blooming plants.
Do honey bees eat fruit?
You may see honey bees feeding on cracked ripe fruit and think that they are destroying your grapes. In fact, the proboscis of the honey bee is not usually strong enough to pierce fruit skin.
But, they will take advantage of sweet fruit juice when available. If weather conditions cause fruit skins to break or some other bee has opened the peel, the honey bees will partake too!
Can bees live without honey?
Honey bees can not live without honey. It contains the micro-nutrients and full nutrition that they require to be healthy long term.
Can you give wild bees honey?
Yes can feed honey to wild bees but it is best to avoid doing so. Some types of bee diseases can be spread through feeding honey from unknown sources.
Is it ethical to take honey from bees?
This is a personal point of view but – yes, as long as the beekeeper is conscientious about leaving plenty in the hive for the colony.
Do bees ever get stuck in honey?
Yes, bees can get stuck in sticky honey – though that rarely happens inside the hive. If it did, they would have thousands of sisters to help free them.
Do bees like sugar water?
You bet! Beekeepers often help hungry hives in times of need by feeding sugar water. It is often made from cane or beet sugar or corn syrup.
Not intended to replace natural nectar or honey, it will keep the colony alive until natural food becomes available.
Do beekeepers need to feed bees supplements?
Sometimes, a beekeeper may feed a pollen supplement to a colony that is low on natural food stores. But, in the best situations – we want the bees to enjoy natural resources that they collect.
