Honey bees are remarkable insects that play a fundamental role as pollinators in ecosystems and agriculture. Their foraging activities support the reproduction of countless plants, contributing significantly to biodiversity and food production. Understanding what attracts these industrious insects is key to appreciating their behavior and their impact on the natural world.
Essential Resources
Honey bees primarily seek out specific resources to sustain themselves and their colonies. Nectar, a sugary liquid produced by plants, serves as the main carbohydrate source, providing energy for flight, daily activities, and hive maintenance. Worker bees collect nectar and convert it into honey, which is then stored as a long-term energy reserve for the colony.
Pollen, another plant product, is equally important as it supplies honey bees with protein, fats, minerals, and vitamins. This nutritional content is crucial for the development of young bees and for brood production. Bees process pollen into “bee bread” within the hive, making its nutrients available for consumption by larvae and adult bees. Water is also collected by honey bees for hydration and to regulate the hive’s temperature, particularly on hot days when they use evaporative cooling.
Visual Preferences
Honey bees possess a unique visual system that guides them to floral resources. Their color perception differs from humans; they have three types of photoreceptors sensitive to ultraviolet (UV), blue, and green light. Bees cannot see red light, but they are highly sensitive to UV light, which is invisible to the human eye. Flowers often display patterns, known as nectar guides, visible only under UV light, directing bees toward the nectar and pollen within the bloom.
Flower shapes, sizes, and patterns also influence bee attraction. Bees show a preference for insect-pollinated flower forms. Their ability to perceive UV light and distinguish light and dark helps them identify flower outlines and patterns, aiding efficient foraging. The overall visual display of a flower, including its specific patterns, assists bees in locating foraging sites.
Scent Preferences
Scent significantly attracts honey bees to flowers, often as a close-range cue after visual signals. Bees are highly attuned to floral fragrances, which are complex chemical signals indicating nectar and pollen. Their antennae detect these airborne compounds, allowing them to identify and differentiate scents.
Within the hive, pheromones, chemical signals produced by bees, also act as attractants and influence social behavior. Queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) attracts worker bees to the queen, maintaining colony cohesion and inhibiting worker ovary development. Alarm pheromones, released when a bee stings, attract other bees, prompting defensive behaviors. The Nasonov pheromone is used for aggregation, such as during swarming or displacement, helping them cluster.
Nesting and Shelter
Honey bees are attracted to specific environments for nesting and shelter, particularly when a new colony is established through swarming. They prefer sheltered, dark cavities offering protection from elements and predators. These include hollow trees or voids within structures.
Factors contributing to an attractive nest site include: Bees prefer cavities with a volume typically ranging from 30 to less than 100 liters, with a minimum of 14 liters acceptable. Entrance size is also a factor, with a preference for small openings (10-30 square centimeters), often near the cavity floor. Nest height and direction, such as a south-facing entrance for thermoregulation, also influence selection, providing optimal conditions for colony survival.