How do bees carry water back to the hive?

Bees carry water back to the hive using their honey stomach, also referred to as the crop. This specialized organ allows bees to transport liquid efficiently. When bees gather water, they sip it up through their mouths and store it temporarily in the honey stomach, which can hold a significant amount of liquid. Once they return to the hive, they can then regurgitate the water from their honey stomach to distribute it as needed, such as for cooling the hive or diluting honey.

The other options do not accurately describe how bees transport water. For example, bees do not carry water on their wings, as this would not be practical or efficient. Likewise, they do not have special containers specifically for water transport, nor do they use pollen baskets—those are designated for collecting and carrying pollen. Each part of a bee's anatomy is specialized for specific functions, and the honey stomach is specifically designed for transporting liquids like nectar and water back to the hive.