Honey bee collecting nectar (Apis mellifera) Science Image

Ref: bee-1



Honey bee (Apis mellifera) collecting nectar from a flower. The nectar is drawn out of the flower through its proboscis (hollow tongue). This is a field bee, an older female worker bee who spends time out of the colony foraging for food. The bee collects the nectar in a honey sac (part of the oesophagus). When the sac is full the bee returns to the colony to regurgitate the nectar to a younger worker bee to deposit in the honeycomb.