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Collecting water

honey bee collecting water

Honey bee workers collecting water from a pond.

Honey bees collect water in order to cool the nest during hot days. When diluted nectar is not available water is also used to dilute honey offered to larvae. Honey bee foragers prefer salty water over distilled water [1][2]. The preference for different minerals is seasonal [3].

Control of water foraging [4][5].

References

  1. Butler C.G. (1940) The Choice of Drinking Water by the Honeybee. Journal of Experimental Biology 17:253-261.
  2. Lau P.W., Nieh J.C. (2016) Salt preferences of honey bee water foragers. Journal of Experimental Biology.
  3. Bonoan R.E., Tai T.M., Tagle Rodriguez M., Feller L., Daddario S.R., Czaja R.A., O'connor L.D., Burruss G., Starks P.T. (2016) Seasonality of salt foraging in honey bees (Apis mellifera). Ecological Entomology.
  4. Lindauer M. (1954) Temperaturregulierung und Wasserhaushalt im Bienenstaat. Z. vergl. Physiol. 36:391-432.
  5. Kühnholz S., Seeley T.D. (1997) The control of water collection in honey bee colonies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 41:407–422.
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