Bee Foraging
Forraging is the word that is used to describe how bees collect pollen and nectar.
Bees rely on the nectar and pollen they gather from flowering plants to feed themselves and the rest of the colony. A typical bee may make thousands of visits to all kinds of flowers throughout each day during the spring and summer.
Foraging is a crucial yet dangerous job that bees of all kinds must perform to feed the hive.
These female worker bees fly from the hive, often up to miles away to forage for food
Bees rely on the nectar and pollen they gather from flowering plants to feed themselves and the rest of the colony. A typical bee may make thousands of visits to all kinds of flowers throughout each day during the spring and summer.
Foraging is a crucial yet dangerous job that bees of all kinds must perform to feed the hive.
These female worker bees fly from the hive, often up to miles away to forage for food
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Left - This is actually a Bumble bee foraging - she obviously likes the Fox Glove flowers. If you can't play the video, you can watch it on my YouTube chanel here. There are two other foraging videos there also - in wild garlic and in fuscia. Honey bees have receptors in their eyes that make blue, violet, purple and white flowers especially attractive to them. The bees only visit one type of flower in any one forraging trip. This is called flower fidelity and it's what makes them such effective pollinators. By planting large clumps of single species of flower in one spot yu can save the bees' energy. |
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In Ireland, like many rainy countries, some plants have developed little bell shaped flowers. The bells protect the pollen from the rain, so the bees know they will find plenty forrage in these flowers.
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Pollen
Bees collect pollen as a source of protein for the babies/ brood. They use their specially adapted legs to brush it off onto special hairs on their hind legs called pollen baskets. Once full, the bee returns to the hive where she passes the collected pollen off to other worker bees who pack it into cells within the comb. The packed pollen is mixed with nectar and enzymes produced by honeybees before being stored in the cells. This mixture eventually becomes “bee bread”, a nutritious food source for developing larvae. |
Nectar
Bees are attracted to flowers with high sugar content because it provides them with energy to fly back to their hives. Once they reach the base of the flower, they extend their special straw-like tongue into tiny pores at the bottom of each petal. They then suck up small amounts of sweet liquid while simultaneously transferring pollen from one plant to another. To store the collected nectar for later use by other members of the colony, worker bees regurgitate it into honeycomb cells where water evaporates leaving behind thick syrupy substance - honey. |
The process of foraging is not only essential for the survival of individual bees but also plays a crucial role in pollination and maintaining ecological balance.
When the forager bees arrive back at the hive, you notice that they don't fly straight in the door.
They land on the surface and walk in.
They land on the surface and walk in.
The Waggle Dance
When worker bees discover an ideal foraging location, they will return to the hive and perform a unique waggle dance on the honeycomb to alert the community that they have found food supplies. The others in the hive will watch to learn the location of the best flowers to forage. The dancing bee will carry back the scent of the flower patch and even give the watching bees a taste of the nectar to help them find the area.
At first glance, the bees appear to be wildly flying about and making random noises, but each movement and buzzing sound indicates detailed information about the location they have found. The pattern of the dance tells the others the distance and direction of the feeding site.
When worker bees discover an ideal foraging location, they will return to the hive and perform a unique waggle dance on the honeycomb to alert the community that they have found food supplies. The others in the hive will watch to learn the location of the best flowers to forage. The dancing bee will carry back the scent of the flower patch and even give the watching bees a taste of the nectar to help them find the area.
At first glance, the bees appear to be wildly flying about and making random noises, but each movement and buzzing sound indicates detailed information about the location they have found. The pattern of the dance tells the others the distance and direction of the feeding site.