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Very thirsty bees

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LizzieBee:
Ever since it rained a week and a half ago my bees have been buzzing around leaking faucets, and today they were bothering me when a few drops of water were on my water bottle outside. They landed on it and drank up the drops of water. After the rain it got fairly warm again. I don?t know if the behavior is from the recent rain or the fact that I also started feeding them 2:1 sugar water syrup right after the rain. Any thoughts?

Lizzie

TheHoneyPump:
What is the temperature like?  Has there been a drought, other than the recent rain?  Are there any water sources nearby? Foliage / forage available?

Sounds like they are hot or just need water to bring balance to the air conditioner in the hive.  Perhaps put out a water bucket with straw float in it so they can land without drowning and get the water they need to take back to the hive.

BeeMaster2:
My father in law always kept a little water fountain near his hives that the bees really liked. It was only about 1 foot tall and it had a very small pump to keep the water moving.
Jim

qa33010:
Mine were doing kinda the same thing the other day.  Not feeding and we've been getting rain.  Sucking up water on glasses, tables, stands and in mud that our dogs created from digging.  They may be looking for various minerals or something, don't know.  They have been going crazy for water.  I normally have water in an entrance feeder for them, but I didnt this year...temp has been 60's. 

LizzieBee:
It?s about 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

I filled up a small chicken water feeder and put rocks around the feeding tray. It?s right next to the hive and the bees are using it but still attending the faucets around the house.

Lizzie

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