How Bees Get Nectar: From Flower to Honeycomb

What nectar is and why bees collect it

Nectar is a liquid made by many flowering plants. Plants secrete it from structures called nectaries, which may be at the base of a flower or elsewhere on the plant. Its sugar provides bees with carbohydrates, a major source of energy for flying and other activity. Nectar also contains water and small amounts of other substances; its composition varies among plant species and can vary with conditions.

Bees collect nectar for the colony, not just for the individual worker making a flower visit. Honey bees use processed nectar as a storable food supply. They also collect pollen, a different flower resource that supplies protein and other nutrients. Nectar and pollen are often gathered on the same trip, but they are not the same material and serve different roles.

How a bee draws nectar from a flower

A honey bee’s mouthparts include a long, flexible structure commonly called the proboscis. During feeding, the bee extends it into a flower and uses it to take up accessible nectar. The proboscis works more like a tube or a lapping tool than a straw that pierces the flower. Bees do not make nectar; plants produce it, and the flower’s shape and nectar’s position affect how easily a bee can reach it.

Flowers differ greatly. In an open, shallow flower, nectar may be easy to reach. In a deeper, narrower flower, the bee may need to extend its tongue farther, and some nectar may be beyond its reach. A bee can move between flowers of the same kind or visit different species, depending on what is blooming and available. Bees also use sight, scent, and learned associations to find flowers; they do not simply visit every flower they encounter.

When the bee has taken up nectar, it passes down the mouthparts into the honey stomach, more accurately called the crop. The crop is a temporary storage chamber, separate from the bee’s digestive stomach. It lets a forager carry liquid back to the colony. Some nectar may be used as the bee’s own fuel, while much of a honey bee’s gathered load is delivered to nestmates.

From flower visit to hive

A foraging worker typically makes repeated flower visits before returning to the hive. The nectar collected is carried internally in the crop, rather than in the pollen baskets on the bee’s hind legs. Pollen baskets carry pollen grains; nectar is liquid. A bee may collect both on one outing, but the two loads are transported differently.

At the hive, a returning forager can pass nectar to a worker bee through mouth-to-mouth exchange, a behavior called trophallaxis. The recipient may pass it to another bee, or place it in a honeycomb cell. The liquid is not instantly honey simply because it is inside the hive: bees must process it and reduce its water content.

Bees add enzymes to nectar as it is passed among workers. They spread the liquid in cells and fan their wings, helping water evaporate. As the nectar becomes more concentrated, it changes into honey. Once honey is sufficiently ripened, bees seal the cell with a wax cap. This storage helps preserve food for times when flowers are scarce. The exact time and nectar yield vary with the flower, weather, and colony conditions.

How bees find nectar and choose flowers

Bees locate flowers using several cues, including color, scent, shape, and the presence of nectar or pollen. They can learn which flowers are rewarding and return to productive patches. A honey bee can also communicate information about food sources to other workers through movement and scent cues in the hive. These signals help the colony recruit foragers, but they do not mean every bee follows a fixed route.

Flowering plants and bees influence one another. As a bee visits a flower, pollen can stick to its body and be transferred to another flower of the same species. That transfer can pollinate the plant. Nectar collection therefore often contributes to pollination, although a visit does not guarantee that pollen transfer will occur. Some flowers are better matched to particular pollinators, and not all flowers offer nectar to bees.

Availability changes over the seasons and with local conditions. Rain, cold, wind, drought, and the timing of blooms can affect how much nectar flowers offer and whether bees can forage. A garden or landscape with a variety of flowering plants can provide forage across more of the season than one with a short, single bloom period. Different bee species also vary in tongue length and foraging behavior, so a flower accessible to one species may not be equally accessible to another.

Nectar, honey, and common misconceptions

Nectar is the starting liquid; honey is the concentrated, enzyme-altered product bees make from it. Bees do not collect finished honey from flowers. Nor is nectar the same as pollen: nectar is mainly a sugary liquid, while pollen is a powdery material gathered from the flower’s anthers and carried externally.

Another common misconception is that every bee gathers nectar. In a honey bee colony, workers perform most foraging, while the queen’s main role is reproduction and drones do not forage for nectar. Many solitary bee species gather food for their own nests, and their behavior differs from that of honey bees. “Bee” describes a large and varied group, so details of food collection and storage depend on the species.

Finally, a bee’s visible tongue is only part of a coordinated feeding system. The bee must find a flower, reach its nectar, draw it up, store it safely during flight, and deliver it to the colony. The plant supplies the nectar; the bee’s behavior and anatomy make it possible to gather and use it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do bees drink nectar?

Yes. Bees take up nectar as a liquid. A foraging honey bee stores much of what she collects in her crop for transport, though she can also use nectar as energy.

How do bees carry nectar back to the hive?

Honey bees carry nectar internally in a crop, sometimes called the honey stomach. Pollen, by contrast, is carried externally in pollen baskets on the hind legs.

Do bees make nectar?

No. Flowering plants produce nectar in nectaries. Bees collect it and, in honey bee colonies, process and store it as honey.

Is nectar the same as honey?

No. Nectar is the liquid bees gather from flowers. Honey is made when honey bees add enzymes to nectar and evaporate much of its water before storing it in comb.

Do all flowers have nectar?

No. Some flowers produce little or no nectar, and the amount and accessibility vary. Flower shape can also make nectar easier for some pollinators to reach than others.

Further reading: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Details can change, so check the official page for anything that matters to you. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. How we write an answer.