Brood food

Definition

Larvae do not eat pollen and honey directly. Nurse bees consume stored pollen and secrete brood food from head glands, and that is what larvae receive. All larvae get royal jelly for the first three days; worker larvae are then switched to a mixture containing more pollen and honey, and queen larvae continue on royal jelly.

Question records that discuss this

• Do bees need water?Yes, and more than most people realise. Honey bee colonies collect water for cooling the hive, for diluting stored honey and for making brood food, and water collection is a distinct forager task. A shallow water source with landing places is a genuinely useful thing to provide.