Honey bees save energy in honey processing by dehydrating nectar before returning to the nest

Abstract Honey bees process nectar into honey by active evaporation on the tongue and passive evaporation involving nest ventilation and fanning behaviour, as well as enzymatic action. The elimination of excess water from nectar carries considerable energetic costs. The concentration of the nectar l...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Susan W. Nicolson, Hannelie Human, Christian W. W. Pirk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-09-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20626-5