Most people don't know that bees need to drink but actually they do. I suggest you place some sort of water feature near your beehive so they can stay hydrated. Not only do they drink the water but they carry the water back to the hive to cool it when the temperature gets too high.
I was very surprised to learn that bees like to take their water supply from pools, because the smell of the chlorine makes it easy to locate. Also, I think the biggest lesson I've learned so far in my beginner's life of a beekeeper is that ventilation is more important than insulation. How long have you kept bees?
ReplyDeleteActually for our bees we use dechlorinated water in their little chickens waterer, made bee waterer, and they do occasionally drink out of our patio pond. With bees though, it's hard to tell where they get water from, since they fly a few miles a day. I don't think the chlorine would harm them but here in Florida our water has high levels of it as well as a many of other contaminants, so we try to give them a non tainted water source. We just use bottles distilled water.
ReplyDeleteTo be entirely honest I have only kept bees for two years, so not long at all. I have made many fails as well as a few victories. I will be sure to post the sweet and the bitter sides of bee keeping. Hence the reason why I posted that video of me running away when I took out the hive beetle trap, then again I didn't use smoke. I did take classes to become a beekeeper but I have to say they didn't help much at all. The only thing I got out of them were a few definitions and plenty of other beekeeper's numbers to call if I needed help. The networking was priceless though, I would have had many more fails if I didn't have people to ask adivce from. That's why I think it's so important to have a sense of community with urban farming. Many people have lots of knowledge that they can share with others who can make use of it. I have a lot more to learn about bees, it's definatley going to be an interesting season this yea.
(advice* year* excuse my typos)
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