Bees need water: a video by Jim Tew

We recently posted a short piece on the fact that bees need water, and it’s up to the beekeeper to make sure they have it.

This is a good follow-up to that post — especially since it reminds us that bees need water, no matter what season of the year.

The video below has our friend Jim Tew commenting on a short video he took of bees foraging for water, and he asks the question we don’t often ask (probably because it seems to obvious), “What are the bees doing when they forage for water?”

A couple of his comments:

• You notice the abdomen of the bee pulsing when they are at the water. Are they somehow pumping the water in?
• Are they getting more than water? Some have speculated that bees are also picking up trace amounts of minerals and natural salts they need.
• They said near the water rather than in the water, it is thought, so as not to get their wings wet.

 

Water Foragers from osba on Vimeo.

 

Key words: bees and water, bees need water, beekeepers providing water for their bees, foraging for water, Jim Tew, Ohio State University, bees, beehives