Bees drink water
Many, of course, saw the bees drinking water at the wells, near the springs, on the warmers by the rivers and ponds. Especially a lot of them are at the watering place in the spring or on hot days in the summer. In fact, they satisfy their need for water by eating honey, in which it contains 18-20%. This amount is quite enough for them to quench their thirst. Then why do they drink it from the sources?
Look closely at the bees at the watering hole.
They do not just drink, but gain water, like nectar, and carry it home. If you mark 2-3 bees sucking water, that is, put a drop of colored varnish on their breast, then these labeled water-carriers can be found repeatedly at one watering place. It turned out that they needed water very much for the preparation of gruel for larvae. A nutritious, nutritious mixture, this is “baby food”, which includes honey, pollen and royal jelly, it is necessary to dilute it a little, make it so that it becomes available for assimilation by rapidly growing larvae. And the more they are in the nest, the more water is needed and the more the family allocates bees.
When bees collect a lot of nectar, instead of pure water they use this gift of flowers. Honey-bearing insects can hardly be seen at the watering place. Most nectar is very liquid. In it half, and even 70-80% of water. Why, then, look for specifically? By water they dissolve the crystals, which are formed in honey in winter.
In dry hot weather, in order to somehow lower the temperature in the nest and keep the necessary humidity in it, the bees bring water sprayed on the honeycombs, hang them in droplets in the cells. Evaporating, it creates a cool and increases the humidity of the air. A lot of water is required for bees in spring and summer. The family contributes up to half a liter of water a day.
In the apiary, therefore, you must have a drinking bowl. Drinking tank (or another container with a crane) for 3-4 buckets is installed in a sunny place on a half-meter high stand, the board with the grooves is inclined. The tap is opened so that the water from it drips and gently runs down the furrows of the board. Here it is heated by the sun. Warm water bees take more readily and quickly than cold.
Bees quickly find a drinking bowl and enjoy it even in cool weather. They stop to fly far beyond the water, do not vanish, as often happens in the wind and in the cold spring. Beekeepers even say that in the spring water for bees is more expensive than honey. Large apiaries in the field, water is brought in milk flasks or cisterns.
There are many drinking bowls. If you think carefully, you can even make a drinking machine.
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