Give your bees water.

[Beagle23]

Bees need to drink and we've had a really dry month. Take a little dish with sloping sides and put it near the hive. Try to keep it away from birds to stop your bees being predated when a fat magpie comes for a drink

 

[For want of a better word]

Bees need to drink and we've had a really dry month. Take a little dish with sloping sides and put it near the hive. Try to keep it away from birds to stop your bees being predated when a fat magpie comes for a drink

NO
Place a container of water away to one side of the apiary.
If in flight path bees will defecate in it as they fly out of the hive.... and if they have NOSEMA it will spread as fast as the Chinese Pox... and I do not see any way that honeybees could possibly keep 2 meters apart!!

Chons da

 

[Erichalfbee]

I dint think they need it. Bees find water all over the place on their own.
But a pond is great for all sorts of other wildlife.

 

[Beagle23]

NO
Place a container of water away to one side of the apiary.
If in flight path bees will defecate in it as they fly out of the hive.... and if they have NOSEMA it will spread as fast as the Chinese Pox... and I do not see any way that honeybees could possibly keep 2 meters apart!!

Chons da

It's the beginners section of the forum, most people here will have one or two hives.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Never had to supply water to any of my bees - it's the UK not Arizona, they'll find water without our help

 

[Beagle23]

Never had to supply water to any of my bees - it's the UK not Arizona, they'll find water without our help

Think how much happier they'd be if you hadn't forced them to fly hundreds of thousands of miles to search for water, parched little bees, driven by unbearable thirst.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Think how much happier they'd be if you hadn't forced them to fly hundreds of thousands of miles to search for water, parched little bees, driven by unbearable thirst.

A little experiment. How many bees in a hive that might be getting water?
How many do you see round your dish?
It’s nice to watch those which do visit though

 

[Mint Bee]

As people on this forum point out continually, one size advice does not fit all when it come to location of bees. South east has been bone dry for several months, apart from odd heavy shower. Ground is bone dry and cracked, with most watercourses very low even for June. I'm assuming Wales and the South west have luckily received more rain.
3 out of 5 of my apiaries have ponds / streams nearby. Other 2 are on hills, with nearest natural supply I am aware of at least one and a half miles away. These 2 are watered using chicken water feeder and trays with gravel in. During the recent hot weather I was topping up with gallon and a half each weekly inspection. Can't say how much the visiting bees use, how much other creatures used or how much evaporated, but it all went.
I would also rather provide water then the bees causing a problem at the landowners house which has happened before.
Up to individuals to assess their circumstances locally and acts accordingly

 

[Erichalfbee]

In high summer a decent colony needs several litres a day maybe swimming pools are a good source for Surrey bees?
Here in Wales my bees prefer cow pats

 

[For want of a better word]

It's the beginners section of the forum, most people here will have one or two hives.

YES
even beginners need to listen to sage advice.
Make sure any water source you supply for your bees is NOT under their flight path
It is not difficult!

Chons da

 

[Mint Bee]

OK, I admit one watering station was due to a swimming pool incident. Not as much livestock in Surrey as other parts of England and Wales as it has the highest average of woodland coverage of about 25% in these two countries. Locally the woodland coverage has been recorded at greater then 40%. Less room for cows and their pats, and those that do appear dry out quickly!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Dew is a common source too

 

[BernardBlack]

I leave water to one side of the apiary, but I’ve never seen bees near it.

I’ve spotted them taking on water in shallow drains, on leaves, or grass.

 

[thedozzer]

After doing a little bit of reading last year, Salt preferences of honey bee water foragers and not-only-sweet-honey-bees-seasonal-salt-foraging/

we always try and make sure the bees have a few water sources near the hive, and following Beno's advice we have 2 large potting trays, one with moss, one with gravel filled with very mildly brackish water, it only takes a few minuets to top them up, and during the hotter part of spring this year, had upward of 20 bees in at any time.

The bees seem to find it useful so that is good enough evidence for me.

 

[gmonag]

it only takes a few minuets to top them up,

Do you have Mozart playing while you work?

They obviously like a few minerals in their water.

 

[thedozzer]

Do you have Mozart playing while you work?

They obviously like a few minerals in their water.

Bloody spell checker strikes again!

having read about all the bees that drown in salt water swimming pools they do indeed = bees-taste-with-feet.

 

[Amari]

Bees need to drink and we've had a really dry month. Take a little dish with sloping sides and put it near the hive. Try to keep it away from birds to stop your bees being predated when a fat magpie comes for a drink

I've taken hives to the heather moors for several years. No water in sight for miles around.

 

[Amari]

In high summer a decent colony needs several litres a day maybe swimming pools are a good source for Surrey bees?
Here in Wales my bees prefer cow pats

You could establish quite a niche market with 'Welsh Cowpat Honey'....

 

[Swarm]

Wife just said we've got a few million years to go to catch up with these little creatures.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You could establish quite a niche market with 'Welsh Cowpat Honey'....

Yes I can see a ready market for it in Islington