Honeybees are in the same insect order as ants and wasps. They are all Hymenoptera. In some ways, they have similar diets. They eat sweets for energy and proteins for growth and development.
Ants and wasps collect honeydew from plant-feeding insects, like aphids and leafhoppers. When fruits are in season, they also eat fruit juice. Honeybees gather plant nectar. They use it in a way that ants and wasps (and other kinds of bees) do not.
Honeybee workers gather nectar from hundreds of flowers. When the workers gather it, the nectar contains sugar and a lot of water. While they are gathering the nectar, the workers eat some of it. The sugar seems to give them energy for their work. The honeybee workers are able to carry almost their body weight of nectar on every flight back to the nest.
Workers in the nest take the nectar from the foragers. They add some enzymes to it and then they put the nectar into cells in the comb. The temperature in the honeybee nest is usually fairly warm. The nest workers fan their wings to keep air circulating.
Between the warm temperature in the nest and the moving air, most of the water in the nectar evaporates, leaving honey. The bees are able to store the honey for a long time. They use it as food during the winter and other times when they need food.
Honeybee workers have special glands on their heads. They produce a substance that many people call royal jelly. When honeybee eggs hatch, the workers feed some of this royal jelly to the newly hatched larva. Larvae that will develop into new queens receive royal jelly during their whole development. Larvae that will develop into workers receive only a small amount of it.
For their protein food, wasps and ants eat other insects. Honeybees, however, eat pollen. This is their basic protein food. Honeybee workers gather so much pollen that they are considered the primary insect pollinators. Honeybees add millions of dollars in value to crops in the United States every year.
Honeybee workers mix pollen with honey. Many people call this mixture “bee bread”. The workers feed this to the larvae that are developing into workers. Many people consider beebread to be a nutrition supplement. They hope that it will give them the same energy that it gives the bees.
After they become adults, the workers spend a few days eating pollen. Scientists think that it helps their bodies finish developing. Some scientists think the pollen stimulates the gland that produces the royal jelly.