Water foraging is a fascinating yet often overlooked aspect of honey bee behavior. While much attention is given to pollen and nectar collection, the importance of water to hive health and function deserves recognition. Here, we'll explore why bees collect water, their preferences, how they communicate water sources, the roles of water foragers, and ways we can support their hydration needs—offering insights into the vital relationship between bees and their environment.
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What kind of water do bees prefer?
Water, which is close to the hive (from few to few hundreds yards)
Water, the bees can smell using their antennae and their front legs:
“Dirty” water rich with mineral compounds and strong odors cues [11] - from ponds, lakes, puddles
Water full of salts and minerals like brackish or seawater, pool water, water from agricultural and urban runoffs
[10] Research on salt preferences of honeybee water foragers reveals that honeybees prefer water with low salt concentrations especially sodium (1.5-3% Na) and magnesium (1.5%Mg) over potassium or phosphate. These salts are essential part of Brood food, thus possibly explaining the colony need for water with salts and minerals. Water with chloride is also often collected by the bees.
Additionally, research showed some individual variation in bees of collecting salty water indicating possible salt specialization in the water foragers? Future research is needed…
Water the bees can see: streams, banks of rivers, dripping faucets, broken pipes, fountains…
Water the bees can reliably find in the same spot: ponds, bird baths, swimming pools, water gardens
What is bees’ preference for fresh temporary water?
Rain drops
Guttation drops
Dew
How do bees communicate about water sources?
New locations and temporary sources of water are communicated by bees via:
Round dance (up to 50 meters).
Waggle dance.
Marking with Nasonov pheromone.
Stationary water sources are remembered (bees are creatures of habit).
Why do honey bees collect water?
Water is usually available all year round and honey bees cannot store water in the hive like nectar and pollen,
though some research documents temporary water storage in the water receiver bees' crops. Water obtained from the nectar and hive air condensation is used to satisfy metabolic needs of individual bees.
There are two seasonal requirements for extra water to be collected:
In the heat of the summer- to regulate broodnest temperature:
Brood nest temperature is kept between 92-97 Fahrenheit averaging 94F. When overheating happens the following stages of thermoregulation are observed:
Ventilation (fanning)
Evacuation and heat shielding (bearding) [12]
Evaporative cooling of brood nest by:
Spreading water on edge of the comb, top of cappings and on the roofs of the brood cells and then fanning the air to circulate it and cool the air around
Thong-lashing by water receiver bees walking around brood area [3]
In the winter-spring time/ or nectar dearth - to prepare larval food when nectar sources are not available:
Food for young larvae - Royal jelly contains approximately 60-80% water, as opposed to honey (up to 20%) and needs to be diluted.
Water is used to thin crystalized honey and dilute dry sugar
Water is used to dilute pollen bread
Bees forage for water in winter excessively as the need for the water is very high. Thomas Seeley mentioned that he observed the most vigorous waggle dances in the warm winter day and that these dances were communicating new water source.
Which bees forage for water?
Key players in water collecting:
Water collectors —> Trophallaxis —> Water Receivers
Honey bees are highly specialized in water foraging (genetic predisposition to detect lower sugar concentrations [17])
Approximately only 1% of the bee population become water foragers so in the colony of 50 000 – there will be approximately 500 bees collecting water.
There is distinct division of labor in water foraging - there are water collectors , bees which specialize in bringing water to the colony and there are water receivers which receive the water through trophallaxis and distribute the water to other bees in the colony or use if for cooling of the hive.
Water Collectors are older bees at least 20 days old
Water collecting is dangerous (drowning, predators)
Prefer collecting at the water source nearest to the hive
Collect only water. Suck up the water using proboscis and collect it in the crop (honey stomach) – up to 50 microliters per load (double the weight of the bee)
Show site fidelity (same site preference)
Can make many daily trips (up to 46 per day per Park (1922)
Trophallaxis
Water collectors offload water near entrance to water receivers via Trophallaxis.
Water Receivers are middle-age bees 10-20 days old
Pass water to other bees in the colony (regurgitate)
Deposit water on the comb for cooling evaporation
Can do cooling through tongue-lashing
Can store water in their body for short periods (water tanks)
Can help with fanning
Don’t perform any other task in the colony
What controls water foraging of honey bees?
Colonies precisely control their water intake
Water collection is Demand driven (need for water) versus supply driven (when available) like with Nectar collection
Supply of water outside the colony is steady but the demand inside the hive can be variable
Trigger to start collecting water is not well known – possibly it’s a “Begging for water” (receiver bees stick their proboscis inside the mouth of water collectors) or the collector is feeling the “Thirst” herself after she empties her crop (more research needed)
The increase in number of water collectors foraging is stimulated by the recruitment dances of other collectors (waggle dance)
Trigger to Stop Collecting water is the exceeded threshold of unloading speed and number of unloading rejections (“unloading ease” [3])
Colony can control water collection On/Off – (adaptive control of water collection [2])
When demand for water rises (“colony thirst”) - colony activates additional hive workers like nectar receivers or possibly non-working bees to switch task and start receive water [2]
Water foraging doesn’t impact nectar collecting
More details can be found in:
Seeley, T. D. (1995). Water collection. In The wisdom of the hive: The social physiology of honey bee colonies (pp. 126–151). Harvard University Press.
How can we help bees with Water collecting?
Become an advocate for increasing awareness of honey bee colony watering needs and help with setting up additional watering stations for honey bees and other pollinators including:
Setting up reliable water source – always filled with water
Water source should be close to the hive (especially in the winter) but not directly in the flight line to prevent contamination from cleansing flights (10-100’ away)
Keep number of watering stations with various salt and mineral contents – let the bees decide what they need.
Protect the water from any chemical contamination, especially with pesticides
Create safe drinking zones, which prevent bees from drowning, safe to land and stand
In the winter – move water stations closer to the hive and place them in sunny location, where water can warmup.
Potentially provide shelter from rain & snow
Use Clauss Hive Dome cover to provide “on site” condensation water
Use black stone pebbles to use natural sun warming
Replace water weekly to prevent mosquito infestation
Use rain water preferably
Here are a few of my favorite Bee Watering solutions:
References
[1] Thomas D. Seeley, The Wisdom of the Hive. The Social Physiology of Honey Bee Colonies
[2] Suzanne Kühnholz, S., Seeley, T. The control of water collection in honey bee colonies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 41, 407–422 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002650050402
[3] Madeleine M. Ostwald, Michael L. Smith, Thomas D. Seeley, The behavioral regulation of thirst, water collection and water storage in honey bee colonies. J Exp Biol (2016) 219 (14): 2156–2165. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.139824
[4] A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED WATER-COLLECTING HONEY BEE UNE ABEILLE HAUTEMENT SPÉCIALISÉE DANS LA RÉCOLTE DE L’EAU EINE HOCH SPEZIALISIERTE
WASSERSAMMELNDE HONIGBIENE Gene E. ROBINSON, Benjamin A. UNDERWOOD Carol E. HENDERSON Department of Entomology, Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
[5] P.Kirk Visscher, Karl Crailsheim, Gavin Sherman, How do honey bees (Apis mellifera) fuel their water foraging flights?,Journal of Insect Physiology, Volume 42, Issues 11–12, 1996, Pages 1089-1094, ISSN 0022-1910, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1910(96)00058-3.
[10] Pierre W. Lau, James C. Nieh; Salt preferences of honey bee water foragers. J Exp Biol 15 March 2016; 219 (6): 790–796. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.132019
[11] Seasonality of salt foraging in honey bees (Apis mellifera), RACHAEL E. BONOAN, TAYLOR M. TAI, MARLEN TAGLE RODRIGUEZ, LAINE FELLER, SALVATORE R.
DADDARIO, REBECCA A. CZAJA, LUKE D. O'CONNOR…First published: 14 December 2016. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12375
[12] Zhao, H., Li, G., Guo, D. et al. Response mechanisms to heat stress in bees. Apidologie 52, 388–399 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-020-00830-w
[14] Mitchell D. 2019 Nectar, humidity, honey bees (Apis mellifera) and varroa in summer: a theoretical thermofluid analysis of the fate of water vapour from
honey ripening and its implications on the control of Varroa destructor. J. R. Soc.Interface 16: 20190048. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2019.0048
[16] Kuhnholz S, Seeley TD. The control of water collection in honey bee colonies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 1997;41(6):407-422
[17] Genotypical Variability for the Tasks of Water Collecting and Scenting in a Honey Bee Colony;Per Kryger, Ute Kryger, Robin F. A. Moritz;First published: 25 December 2001;https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0310.2000.00571.x
About the Author: Marta Soltyszewska
Marta Soltyszewska, a Cornell-certified Master Beekeeper, is a dedicated backyard beekeeper. She maintains around seven honey bee colonies, housed in a combination of Langstroth and hybrid AZ Slovenian/Langstroth hives. Her primary objective is to uphold the healthiest colonies achievable, focusing on natural resistance to varroa mites through non-synthetic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. Her secondary aim is to disseminate beekeeping expertise and encourage new generations to take up this enriching hobby, thereby aiding pollinators at large. With a Master Beekeeping certification and an academic background in biology and teaching, including a Master of Science degree from Poland and experience teaching Anatomy and Anthropology at a Polish university, Marta aspires to mentor budding beekeepers.