Bees are insects that belong to the order Hymenoptera and are also known as anthophiles. Like other insects, such as ants, bees are among the most diverse and have best adapted to different climatic conditions, since we can find them on almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Currently more than 20,000 species of bees are known, among which we can name Apis mellifera, the famous honey bee, so characteristic for its yellow and black colors. These insects have very curious habits, since they are social insects, where very specific hierarchies and functions are differentiated in their gregarious groups. In addition, these animals are well known not only for making honey (although not all species have this ability), but also royal jelly, wax and propolis, substances with very beneficial functions for them.
Have you ever wondered what bees eat? If you want to know the answer to this question and other curiosities about this wonderful group of insects, continue reading this article on our site and we will tell you everything.
Nutritional needs of bees
Bees, like other animals, need the energy available in their food to carry out all their vital functions and to survive. Therefore, they need a balance between different sugars (carbohydrates), lipids, proteins, minerals and water These insects find these nutrients in their main food sources, which are honey and pollen.
In the case of the honey, which is obtained from the nectar of flowers, brings them about a80% of the necessary sugars of your diet, while pollen provides 40%. Thanks to the sugars present in both substances, bees are able to make wax. In addition, it helps them produce internal lipids that become fat deposits, essential for the bees to manufacture hormones and substances that cover their internal nerves.
Pollen, for its part, provides them with essential proteins(approximately 25%) for the perfect development of the glands responsible for the production of royal jelly, which, as we will see later, will be essential for the prosperity of the colony. These glands are called hypopharyngeal. In addition, pollen also provides enzymes that will act as catalysts in different chemical reactions. The constant consumption of pollen will be vital for the bees, since the functioning of the hive, the laying of eggs, the development of the larvae and the entire population of bees depend on it.
On the other hand, water is another essential substance for bees, since provides moisture to the hive (80%) and helps to achieve the optimum temperature (about 35º). Likewise, it is of vital importance during the rearing of the larvae, since it allows them a perfect thermoregulation. If it exceeds or falls below optimal levels, breeding and development cease.
Bee feeding
Bees must meet their nutritional requirements and they do so by consuming, above all, honey, nectar and pollen The latter, in addition to being transported from one flower to another for pollination to occur, it is a food source rich in carbohydrates and proteins with which they feed the larvae. In addition, pollen is rich in vitamin B, an essential nutrient for bees, since their body does not produce it naturally. Pollen is extremely important for royal jelly to be produced, as well as being vital for making wax. It is so important in the diet of bees that its deficiency produces a shorter life expectancy, as well as the decrease in the production of royal jelly and wax and lowers its reserves of adipose bodies, which will allow it to spend the winter and reach spring.
On the other hand, it is from the nectar they collect from the flowers with which the bees they make honey and that will also serve as food for the entire colony. Mainly, the honey is used to feed the drones in their larval and adult stages, as well as the workers once they have passed the larval stage. As we mentioned, the workers are in charge of looking for food sources, that is, the flowers, and they are real hard workers, since in addition to collecting pollen, they absorb the nectar with their tongues and then digest it and later regurgitate it in the hive.. This process is what starts the production of honey with which they will later feed. To do this, they deposit the nectar in the cells of the hive that they themselves built so that the level of humidity it contains drops. Once the humidity drops to 60%, the bees will consider their honey ready and proceed to seal the cells with wax. In this other article we explain in more detail how bees make honey.
What do queen bees eat?
Have you ever wondered what royal jelly is? Well, this substance also serves as food for bees, especially for queens and workers, who consume it at the beginning of their life, more precisely in the first three days. Likewise, if you are wondering what queen bees eat, you should know that it is the royal jelly that will serve as the only food for the queen, since the other bees They eat nectar and pollen once they have passed the larval stage. Remember that during the larva stage the workers eat royal jelly and the drones eat honey, then both go on to eat nectar, pollen and honey.
Pollen is well digested by bees thanks to the fact that they generate enzymes when it is stored in the honeycomb. But what is the difference between royal jelly and honey? Well, it is an acidic, whitish and viscous substance produced by worker bees, which is secreted by them and appears on their heads to later be mixed with other secretions from their stomach. As we said, royal jelly is the food that the queen bee will exclusively feed on for the rest of her life. However, honey is a more fluid and less viscous substance and is also produced by bees from the nectar collected from flowers, as explained above.
Discover how a bee becomes a queen in this other post.
What kind of flowers do bees eat?
You know what bees eat, but how do they get this food? Bees need different flowers to collect nectar, since each type of flower will have different proportions and types of sugars Among them, will be sucrose, fructose and glucose, all necessary in the diet of these insects. In this way, there are flowers whose nectar is richer in sucrose, such as rosemary, clover, chestnut and apple trees (among others), other plants will have Flowers rich in fructose and glucose, such as thyme, heather or dandelion. And in the case that they only need fructose, they will consume the nectar of the flowers of the holm oak, fir or oak. These sugars can be consumed directly or according to your nutritional requirements, since your salivary enzymes can transform one sugar into another.
Other flowers that bees appreciate are lavender, zinnia, oregano, lemon balm, calendula, orange, daisies, lantana, bluebells and lilac, all rich in different sugars, attractive aromas and flowers with bright colors.
So now you know! Having a garden with a wide variety of flowers will help conserve these wonderful insects that are so important to the ecosystem.
Other facts about bees
As we mentioned, bees belong to the order Hymenoptera and within this group there are several insects that play very important ecological roles. We must know that bees are social, gregarious insects with characteristics that make them unique animals, so we will see some of them below:
- They are arthropod animals, that is, their body is segmented into head, thorax and abdomen. They have three pairs of legs, membranous wings and their body is covered with hairs.
- They have compound eyes, like other insects, as well as a pair of antennae through which they can receive different types of signals, whether chemical, olfactory or movement.
- The size of the body varies in each species, being about 2 mm long, as is the case of Trigona minima, or reaching about 63 mm long, like the female Megachile pluto. Learn more about Types of bees in this other article.
- Females are equipped with a sting at the end of the abdomen, which is the modified ovipositor organ.
- Its front legs are adapted for cleaning its wings, while its back legs are responsible for transporting the pollen to the hive.
- They have a great capacity for communication between all the members of the colony, so that through a dance (the dance of the bees) can transmit messages to their partners, such as the distance to a flower. Likewise, they are capable of signaling the orientation of the food source through this dance and they do so thanks to the fact that they are oriented by the position of the sun and the earth's magnetic field.
- They form colonies and live in hives where they build their combs made up of waxes, which are built with the help of the entire colony. There is a hierarchy where each bee fulfills a function and in which the highest position is held by the queen bee, the only one in the colony capable of laying eggs and with great longevity. Following her are the workers, in charge of obtaining food, keeping the hive clean and defending it, and then the drones (non-worker and reproductive males).
Now that you know what bees eat, some of their main characteristics and curious facts, don't miss this video in which you will discover why they are so important for the planet.
