Q: What should I do about water for the bees?
A: Unlike wasps and some other insects, bees are not able to land on the surface of water. They are not very good at swimming either, so having a landing ramp or even a sponge or a small hand towel for them to land on works well. This wicking fabric actively draws water away from the surface, facilitating access and offering crucial protection against drowning. (see more...)
The bees use water to keep hydrated, but they also use water to regulate the temperature in the hive and around the brood section of the nest. The hotter the weather, the more they need. Specific bees get the task of being water carriers and spend the entire day making trips back and forth to the water supply the scout bees have located and shared with them. They will continue to use the same source as long as it remains an available option, much like they do with a nectar source.
Dr. Tom Seeley, the Horace White Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University, and his team have done some amazing studies with honey bees and is always fun to learn from their work. He has several lectures on YouTube about honey bee behavior, one in particular describes how they discovered that once a specific bee comes to gather water and lands on a select location, like a rock for example, that bee will return to the same rock each time she come to collect more water. They use safe paint, like the Posca fabric pens use for marking queens, to mark individuals so they can easily identify the bees in these type studies. This enables efficient subject identification and accurate verification.
Below are some examples and helpful tips for helping provide a clean water source for the apiary.
Bees need water year round, but when the dog days of summer arrive, they use A LOT of water, just to keep the hive cool. When we have a lot of bees in one area, we leave a faucet dripping so the source never runs out.
Something as simple as a bird bath with pebbles or a bucket with a hand towel draped over the side to wick up water works great.
"Frog Log" and other similar "critter saver" devices work great in swimming pools and hot tubs, providing a landing for bees as well as offering other critters a way to get out of the pool/tub without drowning or getting sucked into the skimmer. Placing these upstream from the skimmer so the current will take them to the landing before they get sucked in to the filter system.
I don't always drink Pool Water or Margaritas, but when I do, I share with my friends! :)
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Please keep in mind that most beekeeping questions are best answered and provided as a general guideline rather than absolutes.
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