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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 The Choice of Drinking Water by the Honeybee,
Journal of Experimental Biology
, Volume 17, p.253-261, (1940)
[1]Salt preferences of honey bee water foragers,
Journal of Experimental Biology
, (2016)
[2]. The preference for different minerals is seasonal Seasonality of salt foraging in honey bees (Apis mellifera),
Ecological Entomology
, (2016)
[3].

Control of water foraging Temperaturregulierung und Wasserhaushalt im Bienenstaat,
Z. vergl. Physiol.
, Volume 36, p.391-432, (1954)
[4]The control of water collection in honey bee colonies,
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
, Volume 41, Number 6, p.407–422, (1997)
[5].