Help the bees get a cool drink of water

Bees are fascinating insects! They pollinate our flowers and help our veggies grow. They give us that delicious honey that we like to sweeten our tea or spread on our toast at breakfast.

I’ll admit that I was once scared of bees. Maybe a hold-over from childhood. If they came a-buzzin’ around while I was pulling weeds, I’d jump back and give them a wide berth. Not until after they had finished their business and were off to other flowers, would I return to my task. But my fear of honey bees would subside as I learned we could work happily side by side.

Bumblebees are so totally focused that they didn’t care about me in the least. It’s great fun to watch them up close. That means I can boldly hold my camera right in front of them to get awesome shots like the one above.

Help, the bees need water!

There’s a reason why we’ve coined the phrase “Busy bee”. If you worked as hard as a bee does, you’d be thirsty, too!

But I didn’t discover this until I put out my new birdbath. SEE “how to make a pretty birdbath from old dishes”. While I hoped the birds would appreciate it if only for a drink of water, it still served a purpose as cute garden art. A few days later, I went to check water levels and refill with fresh water. To my dismay, I found 3 bees floating in the dish.

Two had drowned in my birdbath. The third was still alive and struggling. I placed a small stick beside him. He climbed up out of the water looking like a teddy bear that had just come out of the washing machine. I set him out in the warm sunshine to dry off. After about three minutes, he was gone!

Why had the bees been so attracted to the water? I asked a friend at church who is a beekeeper. He said, dryly: “you have thirsty bees!” The birdbath was not deep for a bird. But the bee, perhaps, could not get a foothold on the smooth sides of a ceramic bowl. It drown while trying to get water.

Make a bee bar

When other sources of water are dried up or otherwise not available, a birdbath or fountain is a vital source of water to a nearby hive. Here’s a link to short but very informative article on bees and water from the University of California’s Cooperative Extension Service.

So what can you do to help the bees? Make a bee bar!

In a few minutes, you can provide water that is shallow and safe for bees and other pollinating insects to quench their thirst as they buzz around your garden.

MATERIALS:

1. Shallow dish that holds water
2. pebbles or glass beads
3. Water

Use a shallow ceramic, glass or plastic plate, bowl or baking dish. If you don’t have anything suitable at home, pick up something cheap from the thrift Store.

DIRECTIONS:

Cover the bottom of the dish with small pebbles. If you’d like something more decorative, use glass beads, the kind you can get at the craft store. (and often at a thrift store in the crafts section)

1) Shallow ceramic, glass or plastic dish

2) Fill dish with glass beads, pebbles and stones, or a small stick or two

3) Fill dish with water. Water level should not be above the beads. The bees should be able to land on the small stones, sticks or beads to lap up water without getting soaked themselves!

4) Remember to check the water level and refill as needed. The pan is shallow and in hot climates, the water will evaporate quickly.

Make it decorative

You’ll still help the bees, but also make your bee bath pretty for the garden. If you like to get artsy, simply use a more decorative dish. Look for something cheap from the thrift store. That’s where I found this leaf-shaped bowl. Use rocks, sticks or other elements and remember to keep water levels shallow.

Wrapping it up

Wouldn’t this be a great nature project for the kids? From what I’ve learned, the bees leave a scent behind so other bees know where to get a drink of water, too! And not just bees. There’s a wide variety of insect pollinators, and perhaps a butterfly or dragonfly drop by as well. Your bee bar will be hopping in no time!

Children can watch the bees up close and enjoy helping them. Hopefully, they’ll learn more about honey bees and not be afraid of them. Now if I can only get over my fear of daddy-long leg spiders! Another harmless critter that is also beneficial.

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