Honey bees save energy in honey processing by dehydrating nectar before returning to the nest

ABSTRACT: Honey bees process nectar into honey by active evaporation on the tongue and passive evaporation involving nest ventilation and fanning behaviour, as well as enzymatic action. The elimination of excess water from nectar carries considerable energetic costs. The concentration of the nectar load is assumed to remain constant during transport. However, some of this water elimination may occur before foragers return to the nest and pass their nectar loads to receiver bees. In honey bees captured while foraging in Macadamia orchards, we show that the nectar in their crops has approximately twice the sugar concentration of the fresh nectar in flowers. This was true for four Macadamia cultivars, with up to 75% of the initial water content being removed. There is a further concentration increase i

SUBMITTER: Nicolson S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9519551 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature