Why are minerals and trace elements so important for bees?

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Sodium and potassium 

The two most abundant and dynamic ions in cells and biological fluids. 

Calcium 

Calcium is a vital second messenger in all cells and underpins the operation of the nervous system and musculature. 

Although insects lack a calcareous skeleton, the eggshell contains relatively high levels of calcium, and  so mated females are under particular stress to obtain  sufficient calcium. 

Magnesium 

Magnesium is used in over 300 enzymes and is an essential nutrient in DNA and RNA synthesis.

Zinc 

Zinc is also critical in enzyme production .

Iron 

Iron is vital in nearly 100 enzymes.

Molybdenum Essential nutrient because of its use as a prosthetic group in a range of oxidoreductases. 

Minerals and trace elements are key to the successful operation of insects.

Julian A T Dow 2017 : 23 1-8. University of Glascow.

Researchers at Tufts University have discovered that honey bees alter their diet of nutrients according to the season, particularly as winter approaches. A spike in calcium consumption in the fall, and high intake of potassium, help prepare the bees for colder months when they likely need those minerals to generate warmth through rapid muscle contractions. 

A careful inventory of the bees' nutrient intake revealed shifting sources (from flowers to mineral rich 'dirty water') and how limitations in nutrient availability from these sources can have implications for the health of both managed and wild colonies.

Science Daily , May 30, 2018 , Tuffs University , Available in May print edition of the Journal of Insect Physiology.

The nutritional elements that limit honeybee development to the highest degree due to their scarcity in pollen are Na, S, Cu, P and K. Zn and N.  (Michal Filipiak et al. Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University,Poland).

Fatty acids are necessary for bee reproduction and development including fat bodies that play a role in energy storage and release as well as immune function in insects. 

Fatty acids in pollen: A review of their importance for honey bees, April 2015, Bee World 82(2):60-75

The amino acids in pollens are required by the bee for synthesis of tissues, hemolymph proteins, enzymes, etc. These include the essential amino acids which the bee cannot synthesize and the non-essential amino acids which the bee can transform metabolically from one to another (as man and other animals do) or which it can synthesize from certain essential amino acids (e.g. tyrosine from phenylalanine, cysteine from methionine, etc.). 

These essential amino acids are an absolute dietary requirement for the bee, qualitatively and quantitatively .

W. F. Mccaughey, Martha Gilliam, L. N. Standifer. AMINO ACIDS AND PROTEIN ADEQUACY FOR HONEY BEES OF POLLENS FROM DESERT PLANTS AND OTHER FLORAL SOURCES. Apidologie, Springer Verlag, 1980, 11 (1), pp.75-86. hal-00890511 

The mineral content of honeybee-collected pollen from 34 floral species was analysed for 10 elements. The major and minor elements were the following: potassium (K) , phosphorus (P) , sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na) , iron (Fe) , zinc (Zn) , manganese (Mn)  and copper (Cu).

Mineral content of honeybee-collected pollen from southern New South Wales. 2002: 42

Many of these minerals are important components in enzymatic metabolism and also nervous system polarization and depolarization. To emphasize this point, the minerals identified in the three main body regions of the honey bee and in royal jelly are potassium, sodium, magnesium and phosphorus. These minerals are crucial in honey bee metabolism and also in proper nervous system functioning. 

Mid Atlantic Apicultural Research and Extension Consortium .MAAREC Publication 1.4  February 2015, Delaware Maryland New Jersey West Virginia. USA.