@BobLefridge Me too. It turns out it’s commonly called “bubbling” and lots of bees do it. The Hyleas bees I saw yesterday were sitting on leaves in the sun by the flowers and slowly drawing the nectar bubble in and out of their mouth.
I found this recent review paper on the behaviour. “ Nectar concentrating has various purposes, including preparation for long-term storage in hives, modification before adding to larval provisions, removal of excess water for efficient storage in the crop, thermoregulation, and potentially for nest construction.”
Portman, Z., Ascher, J. & Cariveau, D. Nectar concentrating behavior by bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila). Apidologie 52, 1169–1194 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-021-00895-1







