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Clad in two pairs of wings and (in most cases) a large, intimidating sting, the bee is one of nature’s most prolific pollinators. More than 16,000 known species have been documented, almost all of which spread pollen between flowers (although only a few are capable of producing honey). Bees can be divided into two general groups based on their social behavior. More than 90% of all known species, including carpenter bees, sweat bees and mason bees, live alone or in small colonies. The other species, including the honeybees and the Bumblebee, are “eusocial” insects. This means that they form huge tiered hives of cooperative workers headed by a queen. This article covers some fascinating details about the bee’s diet: what it eats, when it eats, and how it eats.
What does the bee eat?
Bees generally feed on two types of flower products: nectar and pollen. Nectar is the sweet sugar-filled liquid produced by plants to attract pollinating animals. The pollen is the powdery substance that contains enough male gametes (the sperm cells) to fertilize another plant. It is also composed of just about every food a small bee could wish for: carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Many species have developed pollen baskets so that while harvesting food they collect some pollen and transfer it to another flower. This is a mutually beneficial relationship that serves the interests of both the bee and the flower. Even if the bee eats some pollen, enough of it will be transferred to fertilize another plant.
Eusocial bees (such as bumblebees, honeybees, and stingless bees) have a unique social structure that is divided into three basic but distinct classes: drones, workers, and queens. The queen is the one who establishes a new colony and produces all the other bees. When a young female larva is chosen as the new queen, she is fed a substance called royal jelly, which is high in vitamin B, fertility stimulants and other supplements. After consuming the jelly she will become about twice the size of a regular bee and lay about 2,000 eggs every day during its five-year natural life cycle.
Compared to the queen and drones, which mainly serve for reproduction, only the workers are specialized in collecting and processing food. When on foraging trips, they will consume a lot of nectar for themselves and then return the remaining food to the rest of the hive. Honeybees (though not bumblebees) can relay the location of food to other workers with an interesting wiggle dance. It is believed that each of the dance moves can communicate the direction of the food source with respect to the sun, while the length of the dance supposedly communicates the distance.
Another unique behavior of honeybees (and some stingless bees) is the ability to make honey. This involves a complex process where the worker takes in nectar, processes it, and then stores the resulting honey in wax combs for later use in the winter. Most honey grown for human consumption is produced by one species: the western honey bee.
Most bees generally eat nothing but pollen, nectar and the occasional fruit. However, there are a few exceptions. The Vulture Bees of South America feed on dead carrion left by other animals and then produce a honey-like substance from it.
What do bees eat in summer versus winter?
Bees will generally eat the same things in winter as they do in summer, but the one thing that does change is their feeding strategy. Most species (such as carpenter bees and sweat bees) spend the winter in tunnels, holes or other safe locations, drawing on food supplies to survive the cold. Honey bees will also drain their honey supply to last all winter.
What do bees eat the most?
Nectar is the preferred diet of most adult bees in the summer, spring and fall, while pollen is generally fed to the larvae, but bees can eat both types of food at any point in their lives. They will travel miles from their home every day to find food.
What do bees eat if there are no flowers?
Bees are highly dependent on flowers. They couldn’t survive without them. But if flowers are not readily available, they sometimes eat fruit as well.
What do bees use to eat and drink?
The bee is equipped with a very long instrument called a proboscis to reach the center of a flower and collect the nectar inside. The proboscis is roughly analogous to a human tongue, except it resembles a long, thin rod sticking out of the mouth. The mouth and trunk are surrounded by strong jaws, or jaws, to aid in cutting and biting.
Another important body part that helps with their diet (as mentioned earlier) is the pollen basket. Located on the bee’s hind legs, it consists of hairs around a curved surface. When visiting a flower, the bee brushes all the pollen into the basket and then mixes the nectar to make it all stick together.
Do bees eat fruit?
Yes, bees have the ability to eat ripened fruit. They have been observed to enjoy plums, peaches, grapes, figs, pears, apples and more.
Do bees eat honey?
Honey bees (as well as a few stingless bees) are the only ones that make honey and then consume it.
A complete list of the top 5 foods the bee eats
Bees tend to have a very simple diet consisting of only a few foods. Carpenter bees, sweat bees and most other species depend almost exclusively on nectar and pollen for survival.
- Nectar
- Pollen
- Fruit
- honey
- ace
Next one: What do tigers eat?
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