Honey, a sweet substance produced by bees, often raises questions about whether bees consume it themselves. While bees make this sugary product, understanding their diet and honey’s role reveals important nutritional distinctions.
The Bee’s Primary Food Source
Bees rely on two main natural resources from flowers for sustenance: nectar and pollen. Nectar, a sugary liquid, serves as the primary carbohydrate source, providing energy for adult bees’ flight and daily activities. Pollen is a rich source of proteins, lipids, vitamins, and minerals, crucial for the growth and development of bee larvae and young bees. Honey, within the hive, is concentrated and stored nectar. It functions as the colony’s long-term energy reserve during periods of nectar scarcity, such as winter or extended droughts.
Honey Production and Storage
Honey creation begins with foraging worker bees collecting nectar from flowers and storing it in a honey stomach. Back at the hive, house bees add enzymes like invertase, breaking down complex sugars into simpler ones like glucose and fructose. Bees then repeatedly regurgitate and fan the nectar with their wings, dehydrating it from around 70% to about 20% water content. This concentrated product is stored in honeycomb cells and capped with wax, serving as the hive’s vital food supply through lean seasons, including winter months or when raising new queens.
Beekeeper Feeding Practices
Beekeepers provide supplemental food to their colonies to ensure survival and promote hive health. This is often necessary during times of nectar scarcity, such as prolonged droughts, harsh winters, or after a significant honey harvest. Newly established colonies or those recovering from stress also benefit from feeding to build resources. Beekeepers commonly use sugar syrup, a sucrose solution, as a carbohydrate source to mimic nectar, and pollen patties or substitutes for protein. These alternative food sources are preferred over returning harvested honey, as they provide specific nutritional support without introducing risks.
Considerations for Feeding Bees External Honey
While bees naturally consume honey from their own hive, feeding them honey from external or unknown sources carries significant risks. A primary concern is disease transmission, such as American Foulbrood (AFB), a highly contagious bacterial disease caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Spores of this bacterium remain viable in honey for decades and, while harmless to humans, are deadly to bee larvae if ingested. Feeding honey from an unknown origin, including commercially processed honey, can introduce these spores into a healthy colony, leading to widespread infection. External honey may also contain contaminants like pesticides or antibiotics, which could harm bees. Beekeepers discourage feeding bees honey unless it originates from their own disease-free hives, due to these health risks.