Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Water is as necessary to your bees as it is to your pets and to you. Whatever watering
technique you choose for your bees, the goal is to provide a continuous supply of fresh
water. This means while you are on vacation for a couple of weeks, when you get busy
and forget to check, and especially when it's really, really hot—bees always need water.
It is not likely that they will die, as insects are very industrious, but worse, they will
leave your yard to find water elsewhere. Suddenly, lots of bees may appear in a child's
swimming pool next door or in your neighbor's birdbaths. Outdoor pet water dishes be-
come favorite watering stations for bees on the hunt for water. Bees need water in the
hive to help keep the colony cool on warm days, to dilute honey before they feed it to
their young, and to liquefy honey that has crystallized in the comb. To make water ac-
cessible to bees, try the following:
Join the Club
Find a local beekeeping club so you can connect with other local beekeepers (See
Resources, page 197). Local club members have many things in common: weather,
forage for their bees, zoning restrictions, sales opportunities, equipment, bee food
and bee sources, similar pest and disease issues, and more. You can draw on the
experiences of beekeeping veterans, and learn a lot from the decisions, mistakes,
and oversight of others.
Reap advice on when honey plants bloom in your area. Ask members what the
local sources of nectar and pollen are and when they bloom. This will help you
prepare your bees for the honey flows.
Some members have been keeping bees for years and years, while others like
you are still climbing the learning curve. Long-time beekeepers have experienced
many of the ups and downs you still have to deal with, and can ease you through
them if you ask. They have learned enough to survive and prosper and can offer
lots of good advice.
Always consider the perspective of the beekeeper offering advice.
A bee-
keeper with hundreds of colonies has a different approach to most situations than
someone with the same years of experience with only two colonies. Efficiency,
scale, time, and profit may determine how that first beekeeper approaches the craft,
while a love of nature, a fondness for woodworking, and enough honey to keep the
pantry stocked informs the perspective of the second. You can learn equally from
both if you consider each in their own particular context.
Beware of routine masquerading as knowledge.
Success with bees over time
indicates skill, knowledge, and hard work. But the skills, knowledge, and hard
