What Honeybees and Yellow Jackets Eat

Here is a simplified article on what honeybees and yellow jackets eat, and why.

When they are young, they eat protein, and when they are mature, they eat sweet stuff. The end. Just kidding! I mean...they really do, but I will give a few more details as to why.

When larvae of either honeybees or yellow jackets are developing, they are fed a diet rich in protein. This is so they can grow properly. Other things are mixed in what they are fed, but their diet is definitely protein-heavy during the larval stage and young adult stage. For honeybee larvae and young honey bees, the protein source is pollen. Pollen is very protein rich! The worker bees collect it and bring it to the hive. For yellow jacket larvae and young yellow jackets, their protein sources are insects and scavenged meat that the adult yellow jackets bring back to the nest. So...if you have ever been trying to clean a fish or had meat outside for some reason and found that it attracted yellow jackets by the droves, now you know why. They had a nest nearby and were feeding baby yellow jackets.

Mature yellow jackets and honeybees primarily eat sweet stuff. Mature honeybees eat mostly honey and nectar. Yellow jackets, on the other hand...it depends on the time of year where they get their sugar fix! When the yellow jacket hive has larvae and young yellow jackets, the mature wasps bring the young ones protein. But, the mature yellow jackets do not forage for the sugars they need to survive, because they have a source right there in the nest. The immature yellow jackets produce a sweet substance that the adults eat. So, when the nest has a decent larvae and young yellow jacket population, the adults generally only scavenge for protein. However, later in the year when the queen stops laying eggs, the mature yellow jackets suddenly lose their source of food. Then, they turn to scavenging sugar sources in order to survive. They will go after anything sweet...soda, juice, ripe fruit, etc. They can become a real nuisance in the fall when they want their sugar fix, kind of like someone who abruptly stops their Atkin's diet!

Fall-time is also the time of year when honeybee keepers must keep a close watch on weak hives, as they could get overrun by aggressive yellow jackets raiding the honey. Not a good situation, but may be helped by adding a hive entrance reducer so the honeybees don't have to protect such a large entry area.