- Joined
- Sep 4, 2019
- Messages
- 344
- Reaction score
- 310
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
I want to help my bees as much as possible, to thrive, so that their colony can succeed and survive year by year (and that I can get some honey as well!) Although I am fairly new to this role as a beekeeper, the things I have read (and my own observation) indicate that bees do not always automatically do as well as we would like. Not all hives survive a cold winter, and they can have a difficult time in a hot summer when conditions can be very dry.
I realise that here in Australia we are six months out of phase with Northern Hemisphere countries, and also that some bee keeping countries do not have the same very dry conditions that we have here.
Last summer there were days when I observed large numbers of bees bearding on the outside of their hive box, because (apparently) it was rather too warm for them inside of their hive. I had provided a source of water for them, but they had not found it. As it turned out, I had to service my evaporative air cooler (in the heat of summer), which then drained water onto the roof and into the gutter which contained leaves and debris. I cleaned out this debris from the gutter, and while it was lying, sodden, on the ground, some bees found those very wet partly composted leaves which had been in the house gutter.
I realised that it would not take long, in the hot sun, for this wet material to dry out. I had an idea, and used a spade to scoop up some of this wet material while bees were drinking from it. I wanted to be as careful as possible, to avoid scaring the bees away, and was able to transfer this wet material and the bees on it, to the source of water which I had provided for them. Success! It was fascinating to see that within a very short time, there were numbers of bees coming and going in a steady stream to collect water and take it back to their hive.
But I have a problem. The bees that collected water last summer have long since departed this life. We have had a wet winter, and the bees which are out foraging now can find water easily without having to come to that which I have provided for them. The bees do not seem to have any collective memory of what was provided for their older siblings last summer. How can we as beekeepers help the bees to find, and use, the water we have provided for them?
I realise that here in Australia we are six months out of phase with Northern Hemisphere countries, and also that some bee keeping countries do not have the same very dry conditions that we have here.
Last summer there were days when I observed large numbers of bees bearding on the outside of their hive box, because (apparently) it was rather too warm for them inside of their hive. I had provided a source of water for them, but they had not found it. As it turned out, I had to service my evaporative air cooler (in the heat of summer), which then drained water onto the roof and into the gutter which contained leaves and debris. I cleaned out this debris from the gutter, and while it was lying, sodden, on the ground, some bees found those very wet partly composted leaves which had been in the house gutter.
I realised that it would not take long, in the hot sun, for this wet material to dry out. I had an idea, and used a spade to scoop up some of this wet material while bees were drinking from it. I wanted to be as careful as possible, to avoid scaring the bees away, and was able to transfer this wet material and the bees on it, to the source of water which I had provided for them. Success! It was fascinating to see that within a very short time, there were numbers of bees coming and going in a steady stream to collect water and take it back to their hive.
But I have a problem. The bees that collected water last summer have long since departed this life. We have had a wet winter, and the bees which are out foraging now can find water easily without having to come to that which I have provided for them. The bees do not seem to have any collective memory of what was provided for their older siblings last summer. How can we as beekeepers help the bees to find, and use, the water we have provided for them?
