Water in the Beehive

There’s a question that often appears on beekeeping knowledge exams asking test-takers to identify the four things that bees bring back into the hive, and what those items are used for. These items are: nectar to make honey; pollen to make brood food; plant resins to make propolis; and water for hydration, diluting honey, and cooling the hive. While the uses for nectar and pollen seem obvious, let’s examine the reasons bees need water, how water supports the whole hive, and how to provide safe water sources for your bees.

Why do bee hives need water?

Like all living things, bees need water to survive. Bees drink water and use it to feed young bees, but they also use water in the hive for temperature regulation and in the honey-making process.

Some of the hum you hear inside the hive on a hot summer day is your bees operating their in-hive air conditioner: Worker bees are tasked with finding water sources, collecting water, and bringing it back to the hive. The gathered water is spread in a thin layer over the surface of the comb where the bees fan the water with their wings to evaporate it, creating an in-hive cooling system.

Bees also use water to thin and de-crystalize honey, making it easier to consume—which is especially important during the winter, when honey stores help bees survive.

Do bees take water back to the hive?

There are some bees whose entire foraging life may be devoted to being water carriers, making 50 to 100 trips per day. A hive may need as much as a quart of water each day during peak demand.

How do bees collect and store water?

Bees find water from many sources. You will often see bees clustered around small seeps and leaks from pipes or hoses. In the early spring, bees will use small pools of snow melt, even when the water is perilously near freezing.

The uptake and transportation methods of nectar-collecting bees and water-carrier bees are similar, with a few differences when the foragers return to the hive.

Nectar availability is controlled by the time of day, weather, and presence of nectar-producing plant species. If nectar is available, bees will haul it into the hive, so the nectar-foraging behavior of the bees is driven by the supply. Rich sources of nectar are “advertised” by the foraging bees to others in the hive using waggle dances that describe the potential of the resource and how to find it. This sends additional bees out of the hive to capture the bounty and bring it back for both immediate consumption and, in much larger amounts, for long-term storage. This is what allows bees to be such efficient honey hoarders.

Water, on the other hand, is foraged only on demand. It appears that when the sugar concentration in the water-carrier bees’ honey crops gets elevated, they leave the hive to find water nearby. When they return to the hive, specialized receiver bees will take the water from them.

The speed with which water carrier bees find a water receiver bee to accept the load controls whether additional water carrier bees are recruited. When the carrier bee must spend longer finding a willing receiver, she will not recruit other water foragers. If she finds that there are bees aplenty to receive foraged water, it’s time for recruitment, which includes giving the new hire a small sample of the water to train her to recognize the water source by smell or taste.

Water is not stored in the combs, but appears to be “stored” temporarily in the crops of nurse bees within the hive.

Where do bees collect water?

Peak demand for water occurs when the weather prevents bees from foraging for nectar (which is mostly water when it arrives at the hive) and on hot days when brood nest temperature regulation is critical. Foraging under these conditions can lead to problems with humans: bees sometimes find swimming pools conveniently located near their hives, and the best days for lounging around a pool are often when demand may be the highest for water to cool the hive, which increases bee traffic. In addition, pool water contains salts that may make the water extra-attractive to the bees.

Every year we hear reports of pool-bee problems, some of which have even required the removal of the bees to calm the neighbors’ fears. Most beekeepers don’t give much thought to their bees’ sources of water. But unless you live in a rural area, it’s smart to do so before any problem arises. Once the bees have found a good source of water, such as the pool next door, it will be hard to dissuade them from using it. If you offer a good alternative source of water for your bees, you can forestall problems. In addition, it might prevent them from foraging from a contaminated water source.

How to create water sources for bees

While you can create new water sources for bees, you can’t simply put out a bucket of nice clean water and consider it done. Bees don’t seem to like perfectly potable water, preferring slightly “riper” water. Something like a permanently dripping hose near a rock might be a solution, but perhaps not good water conservation. Follow these quick tips for providing water to your bees:

• A good bee water source must be always available, and easily accessible to the bees.
• Bees often drown when taking water, so there should be lots of shallow approaches to the edge of the water, such as rocks or floating objects that protrude above the surface to allow the bees to walk safely down to the edge.
• Quiet, unmoving water will be a haven for mosquito larvae, and you may prefer not to use any mosquito-killing chemicals on the bees’ water supply, but adding a small circulating pump will keep the water in gentle motion which will help to reduce its attractiveness to mosquitoes and other pests. Remember that a pump will require some form of power to run.
• Consider placing your bees’ water source within close proximity to a hose or other water source to make topping up the water more convenient.
• If you live in a cold climate, you will need to be able to remove the water and pump before winter causes it to freeze and crack.