Bee Water Stations

July 6, 2022June 24, 2022 by T Whitaker

Bee Happy?

Yesterday my granddaughter and I were in the pool swimming away when I noticed a bee in the water. While I know that oftentimes bees land in the pool, not just for a drink, sometimes they are exhausted and have gone to bee heaven. Yet, I must try to save the poor thing, like I rescue all the bugs that fly into the pool. It’s a thing with me. I feel totally responsible for helping save a life even if it is something that is small. The bee was very gently taken by my granddaughter on a leaf to the bushes and placed in part shade/sun to recover. Which it did and flew away to tell the other bees in its colony about the miracle that it experienced that day.

Bees, as most everyone knows, are having trouble in this modern world. Some species are on the verge of extinction These little pollinators are important for many trees, flowers, and farms. Without pollinators, there would be many plants that would not produce the foods we eat. Where I live there are a ton of almond trees usually buzzing with bees. If those bees were gone there would be silence and acres and acres of trees with no almonds. That would be sad. So we must do our part to help the bees out.

On my part, I try to use natural pest control, such as beneficial bugs, and organic sprays if absolutely necessary. I know that if I poison one bug, they all get poisoned so I try not to do that. I also create places for bees to rest and revive. I created bee water stations that are made to allow them to drink safely. My station has been visited by ladybugs, praying mantis, and tree frogs. That is what I have seen myself, I am sure many other things have visited. You can purchase the Bee Stations from my Etsy^. If you choose to make them you certainly can.

When I created the bee water stations, I used terra cotta pots and trays. Paint them water ever color you want, but you do want to paint them to keep them waterproof. I used patio paint* and needed to add several layers to get the bright colors I like. Glue with the top to the upside-down bottom pot with E6000* for a strong bond. Let it dry24 hours. You then need to use an outdoor Modge Podge* to seal the paint and the water station. Decorate the station, then use a Krylon* clear spray to seal the whole thing. Each step takes a couple of coats and time is your friend.

You must let the whole dry for at least a week before putting it in the garden. This helps it be waterproof and weather-resistant and dissipates any off-gases the spray paint emits, rendering it non-toxic. Also please wash the rocks and let them dry before placing them on the tray. It helps get rid of any undesirable thing. The rocks are important because it gives the bees and other creatures somewhere to land out of the water to drink.

I am not a beekeeper nor do I want to be one. I do, however, think providing a drink for the bees is something I can do that is quite passive on my part but very important to the bees. I looked into making bee hotels and such but after doing research decided that they were not really healthy for the bees. It turns out that mites and wasps, etc use the hotels as well as the bees. Typically the bees lose. So I thought a great water station, some flowers to sip from and rest in was the right thing to do. It occurred to me a while back that nature knows what she is doing and sometimes we help too much. Perhaps we just need to step back and quit doing the things that hurt nature rather than trying to fix it after the damage is done.

Here are some fun Bee Facts for you!

Bees recognize human faces! They know who you are.
Bees use water for humidity and temperature control in the beehive
Bees beat their wings 11,400 times in one minute
Bees use water to digest their food.
Bees pollinate approximately 130 agricultural crops in the US including fruit, fiber, nut, and vegetable crops.
Bees use water to dilute crystallized honey
One Bee must collect nectar from about 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey
Bees use water to make the honeycomb.
A hive of bees will fly over 55,000 miles to make 1lb of honey and can create 100lbs of honey in a year.