How Do Bees Drink Water? The Fascinating Science Behind Bee Hydration

Hello Everyone,

We've had feedback about how, when and where bees drink water. This blog is a primer on this subject.

This first part is about hows bees actually drink. And what they do with this water. Later on, we'll talk about bee baths and best practice for getting bees to your bee bath.

A honeybee drinks with its proboscis, the long, flexible mouthpart it also uses for nectar.

The mechanics

• At rest the proboscis is folded under the head. To drink, the bee unfolds it and puts the tip into the water or onto a wet surface.
• The tip is a hairy tongue (the glossa) that moves rapidly in and out, several times a second. Water clings to the hairs and is drawn back with each stroke.
• Other mouthparts wrap around the tongue to form a temporary tube. A muscular pump in the head then draws the water up into the body.
• The water goes into the honey stomach, a storage sac in front of the true stomach. It holds a load equal to roughly a third to half of the bee's body weight, and she carries it back to the hive.

What happens at the hive
Water foragers don't keep the water. They pass it mouth-to-mouth to house bees, who use it to:

• cool the hive: they spread thin films over the comb and fan their wings so it evaporates, like an evaporative air conditioner;
• dilute stored honey to make food for the larvae;
• keep the humidity right for the brood.

That's why demand for water rises sharply on hot days, and why a colony may send out hundreds of water foragers at once.

Why it matters for a bee bath
Bees can't swim and can't drink while floating. They need a firm footing at the edge of the water, where they can reach a thin film or shallow pool without getting their wings wet. They particularly like damp surfaces such as wet moss, mud or the edge of a dripping tap. That's the reason for landing pads, pebbles and shallow lips on a bath, and why deep open water mostly drowns them.

Hope this short blog helps you bee lovers out and please let's hear some feedback.

Gerard and The HarvestPro Team