water supply

[tonybloke]

purchased at an auction yesterday, with a bit of moss installed in the outer ring, should be a good water supply for bees
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=1826&stc=1&d=1276184458

 

[Mike a]

I bet they will ignore it and travel that little bit further to get water from a stagnant puddle. We all have our favourite watering holes. !

 

[oliver90owner]

That should be no problem - fill it with water from the stagnant puddle! Anything to get them started on it, rather than neighbours pool or whatever. They will then keep using it.

Regards, RAB

 

[rae]

We've got the same, and we put it in the dried up ditch where they drank from earlier in the year - they've taken to it nicely. I put a load of old shreddings and dirt in there to make the water suitably vile for them.

 

[andypigeon]

mine use the pond, i have a board floating in it for them to land on.

 

[Incatatus]

mine use the pond to, its about 25-30 meters away

 

[MuswellMetro]

mine use the pond to, its about 25-30 meters away

i saw bees with green legs and bellies flying into the Hive the other day...traced their water supply...green slimy water in an old fish tank

 

[Leigh]

Having tried buckets with moss and also floaty bits of wood therein, which seem to kill/drown quite a few bees.

This method seems to give them a ready supply of clean water and they don't seem to use it as a method of suicide, as they do the floaty bits of wood (which the use as diving boards into the deadly depths).

 

[tonybloke]

good idea!

 

[Silly Bee]

It is a good idea, and so simple.

I put a washing bowl with oasis in, yesterday I watched bees drinking from an empty icecream carton that had a small puddle of rain water in, a few yards away.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

My ladies have taken a fancy to diving in our water butt with varying degrees of success. Now there is a sponge wedged in it, most happily use that. Those that dont are unwitting contributers to darwinian improvement (well would have been if gene passing was relevant)

 

[Teemore]

Rain water is definitely preferred over tap water. (By bees that is!)

 

[Leigh]

Mark 3 version.....water lasts much longer! The earlier one with the sponge dripped away too quickly. This new one is a 20 litre container with a hole cut in the top...oasis is pushed in to the bottom...water gets drawn up the oasis. Seems to do the trick.....I think that is enough faffing about with water containers for a while.

 

[sunshinemedic]

Superb design!

 

[Ed Woods]

I have used a couple of my cats bowls filled with chalk clunch - the clunch absorbs the water and the bees sit on the clunch absorbing the moisture - no drowned bees.

 

[SER]

There are loads of different water sources around my bees, ponds, troughs etc but they are currently going mad for the water on top of a load of lime mortar we have maturing, I'm sure they know what they are doing but it must be very caustic.

 

[Ed Woods]

Just noticed lots of bees feeding on dried chicken poop? Must be after the minerals.

 

[nelletap]

Using Oasis in a container of water has worked so well for me - or at least my bees.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/photo.php?fbid=10150199960488129&set=a.10150199960483129.306778.618358128&type=1&theater

 

[dpearce4]

purchased at an auction yesterday, with a bit of moss installed in the outer ring, should be a good water supply for bees
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=1826&stc=1&d=1276184458

thats a chicken feeder/water trough hope u got it cheap they are about £10 new. but should work well i find the bees use mine without moss as i have one for my chickens.