may be dumb? what do bees eat in summer?

[Wesbee]

Field bees as they are out foraging,do they eat nectar or pollen? or can they even eat raw pollen? or do they grab a quick honey smack while in the hive?
And also when we feed syrup do they eat it as it is or turn it all to honey first?........ just wondering!

[rwilly]

I don't think it's a dumb question, I don't know the answer either.

[mgolden]

My understanding is that bees consume honey before they leave for foraging. The amount they consume varies with the length of the trip.

Don't know if sugar syrup and raw sugar is turned into honey first, before it is eaten by bees as food.

[JRG13]

Bees (all foraging ones) calculate their energy use and consume stores before leaving based on that. It's why sometimes you see some falling short, they literally run out of gas. When looking at flight, it's not that insects get tired and have to rest as they don't build up lactic like we do, they literally run out of energy and have to stop. I imagine they could use nectar as a source in the field before making the final flight home.

[Rader Sidetrack]

I read somewhere that bees have a "valve" of sorts that allows them to choose to consume nectar that they would otherwise transport back to the hive.

Here is one source:

The honey crop (also called the honey stomach) is where the worker bee stores collected nectar for the trip back to the hive without digesting it. A muscular valve called the proventriculus can be closed, keeping the nectar from passing into the stomach. The crop is expandable, allowing the bee to carry a larger load. Back in the hive, the contents of the crop can be ejected back through the mouth for storage in a honey cell or to feed other bees by trophallaxis.

http://www.aragriculture.org/insects...y_honeybee.htm

The link above is quite interesting, it even has descriptions and illustrations of specific bee parts.

And a second reference:
http://insects.tamu.edu/continuing_e...ey_Bees_PN.pdf

[SwedeBee1970]

With two stomachs, a bypass valve sounds about right. Bees can't convert sugar into honey, but can use it for food (energy). Nectar is the only source that can be converted into honey. Pollen is converted into a protein source to feed the young emerging bees.

[Jim 134]

My understanding is that bees consume honey before they leave for foraging. The amount they consume varies with the length of the trip.

BEE HAPPY Jim 134