Watering the bees

When we started planning the bees, I was very fretful about their water supply.  The neighbors to our Left (when you look at the house from the road) have a swimming pool.  We really don't want the girls to get in the habit of bringing that chlorinated yuck into the hives, so it is important for them to know where to find fresh water and be in the habit of going there before the pool cover comes off for the season.

I found this at Lowe's sometime last...late Fall/early Winter.  It holds about a gallon of water and the bees seem to like it.  We've been told that they need sticks or straw to stand on so that they don't fall in and drown, so we have sticks.  However, I've been watching and they don't use the sticks.  They hold on to the lip and lean in from the edge without ever touching the wood.

 Today, I went to Lowe's and got a second one, not because that one wasn't working, but I just wanted to be sure there is always plenty available.  I hung the new one on the other side of the clothesline pole and haven't bothered with sticks.

And, I finally spotted a bee checking out the little fountain we have on the deck for Sophie and the cats to use as a water dish.  It's always full and flowing, too.  I have dropped in a couple of bamboo pieces from a wind chime that had fallen apart because that bee was having a little difficulty dealing with the moving water.

Of course, when Chuck's watching, they use the sticks.