Honey Bee Nutrition: Everything You Need to Know
TL;DR: Honey bee nutrition revolves around nectar, pollen, honey, and water, with needs shifting across the seasons. Bees do eat pollen, which provides vital protein for brood rearing, while nectar and honey fuel daily energy and survival. Beekeepers play a crucial role in supplementing when natural forage is scarce.
- Spring: Colonies depend on stored honey, with syrup and pollen patties supporting brood growth until blooms arrive.
- Summer: Bees thrive on abundant nectar and pollen, storing honey and requiring steady water for cooling and hydration.
- Fall: Supplemental thick syrup and protein ensure strong “winter bees” and adequate stores for the cold months.
- Winter: Colonies cluster and live off reserves, with solid emergency feed as insurance against starvation.
Honey bee colonies require a balanced diet throughout the year. Proper bee nutrition is critical for everything from daily energy to raising the next generation of workers. But what do honey bees eat and drink?
Proper bee nutrition includes carbohydrates from nectar, protein from pollen, and water for hydration and hive cooling. And, yes, honey bees do eat pollen. It’s a bee’s main source of protein, fats, and vitamins, and it’s essential for rearing brood.
With that said, the availability of honey bee food changes with the seasons. In this blog, we’ll break down what bees eat by season. Keep reading to learn all there is to know about the diet of a honey bee year-round!
Bee Nutrition in the Spring
Spring is growing season for honeybees. It’s typically when the queen lays the majority of her eggs. Both larvae and young bees get protein from pollen, making access to food important for healthy colony growth.
Although nectar flow often begins in Spring, the weather and temperatures can be unpredictable. There may be warmth one day and frost the next. Fluctuations in the weather and temperature can limit foraging, making it harder for bees to find food.
During winter, bees survive on the honey they stored the previous year. However, stores may be empty or low by the time early spring comes around. As a result, beekeepers often step in with supplemental feeding.
A light 1:1 sugar syrup (one part sugar to one part water) mimics natural nectar. The mixture is often enough to give the colony energy to rear brood and build new comb. Some beekeepers also offer their bees a pollen substitute patty to provide protein during times of scarcity. We recommend an internal hive feeder for syrup during the unpredictable early springtime.
As the season warms up, your bees will switch to natural pollen and nectar.
Bee Nutrition in the Summer
Summer is when honey bee colonies thrive on natural forage. Your busy bees will spend their days foraging for abundant nectar and pollen. Ideally, your colony will be entirely self-sufficient during this time.
Your bees will likely store surplus honey in the comb during the summer months. This honey will become an essential source of bee nutrition in the wintertime.
When the temperatures rise, bees also need access to water. Not only do bees drink water, they also fan it throughout the hive like natural air conditioning! Make sure there is a clean, shallow water source available near the apiary.
If you notice your colony’s natural food sources dwindling, you can offer syrup feeding during this time.
Bee Nutrition in the Fall
Fall marks the end of the nectar flow for the year. To survive the winter, the colony requires a protein-rich diet in the autumn. The quality of forage in the fall can vary significantly by region. As a result, many beekeepers step in during this time of year.
The most common way to feed bees in the fall is with thick sugar syrup. A 2:1 syrup (two parts sugar to one part water) provides concentrated carbohydrates. The bees will cure and cap the syrup as if it’s honey. Many beekeepers also add a feeding stimulant or supplement to fall syrup.
Use an internal feeder during fall, and reduce the hive’s entrance size to keep robber bees away. Be aware that late feeding must stop before freezing weather. At that point, any liquid left uncapped in the comb can ferment or cause excess moisture in the hive.
Bee Nutrition in the Winter
Bees can’t forage in cold weather. Instead, the colony forms a tight cluster inside the hive to stay warm. The bees survive by gradually consuming the honey (or syrup stores) they’ve collected all year. This honey is the fuel that allows the bees to generate heat by shivering their flight muscles.
Ideally, each hive will have sufficient honey reserves. Depending on your climate, that’s usually between 40 and 60 pounds of honey.
On mild winter days, beekeepers can peek under the inner cover to see if the cluster is running low on food. If the bees are close to empty combs, beekeepers might provide an emergency feeding. Because of freezing, this feed must be in solid form only. Popular options are candy boards, hard sugar cakes, and fondant patties.
Mann Lake offers a product called Pro Winter Feed. It is a formulated winter sugar patty that provides carbohydrates without stimulating brood rearing.
Good Nutrition Starts with the Right Feeder
Proper bee nutrition is key to a healthy hive! Explore our bee feeders to keep your colony happy and healthy year-round!