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A drinking bowl for bees is an indispensable thing in the care of these insects. After all, they are thirsty every day – especially during the appearance of bee brood.
In spring and winter, the beekeeper installs such a device on a stationary apiary. It is worth considering the features and types of bee structures, as well as the rules for their installation and pay attention to the photo of the drinking bowls for bees with your own hands.
Do bees need drinkers?
As you know, honey bees always want to drink a lot of water. Therefore, in the absence of a natural source near the bee apiary (stream, river, lake or pond), an apiary drinker with a volume of 0,7-3 liters is built in this place.
In such structures every day there should be a certain amount of water. Their volume is increased or decreased depending on the season:
- in the honey collection, one family of bees drinks 300 ml of water in 1 day;
- at the end of summer, bees consume 100 ml of water in 1 day;
- since September, the bee colony has been drinking 30 ml of water per day;
- in early spring, insects consume 45 ml of water per day.
When installing a do-it-yourself drinker for bees from a plastic bottle, the beekeeper ensures the correct supply of water to this device. This product is installed outdoors. Thus, the sun’s rays maintain the desired temperature of the water.
This design provides the following benefits:
- with the daily presence of water in the hive, the bees are always provided with it – they do not need to fly anywhere;
- such a device is made from a plastic bottle, which instantly heats up in the sun;
- when water is added to this design, the beekeeper does not disturb insects in any way;
- the beekeeper evaluates the degree of development of the bee colony by transferring water to the hive without opening it;
- such a structure can be quickly built in a certain area, and the materials of manufacture are of low cost.
When installing a similar design for bees, the beekeeper chooses a place that is quickly heated by the sun. In order not to be blown away by the wind, it is installed on a special stand, the height of which is 70 cm.
Varieties
All bee drinkers come in 2 types: public and individual. The first structures are containers that are filled with water, and all the bees flock to them.
The second products are installed only in small apiaries. Water is supplied directly to each family of these insects.
According to the method of water supply, drinkers are of two types:
- Current. In this case, water slowly drains from a plastic ordinary bottle or any other container along the board, on which there are several curved channels.
- Dripping. These designs are containers that are closed with a lid with small holes. They are hung in a vertical position, lid down, over a small tray on which water drops drip and where excess water accumulates. For a large number of flying insects, several such devices are installed.
In winter, the beekeeper builds a heated drinking bowl. Indeed, at the beginning of spring, insects, when in contact with cold water, freeze, freeze and die. If the sun shines for a long time on the street, then the water quickly heats up in a bee structure made of plastic or glass.
Seasonal classification
Depending on the season, beekeepers install 2 types of drinkers – winter and spring. It is worth considering their main characteristics.
Winter
In winter, to provide the bees with the necessary amount of water, intra-hive drinkers are used. In this case, vacuum containers are more often used.
In this case, access to water is possible only from the hive. Since this design is transparent, it is easy to maintain the required liquid level in it.
Spring
In the spring, when the bees leave the hive, beekeepers install external drinkers. In this case, in the place where the sun shines, they put a barrel with a half-open tap, which is filled with water.
A similar design is placed near the hive. Thus, the bees quickly and independently take as much water as they need.
Heated
In early spring, the temperature of the water in the bee trough is still cold. In contact with it, sleepy bees are subject to great stress. In this case, there is a significant reduction in the number of bees.
To ensure that the water is always warm, beekeepers install small heated drinking bowls. In this case, an aquarium water heater is more often used. This device does not boil ice water, but slightly heats it.
Vacuum drinkers
A vacuum drinking bowl for bees is considered an indispensable container in winter, when the bees themselves often freeze and their brood is reduced. This design has the following advantages:
- it is filled without opening the hive itself, in this case, when filling the container with water, the insects are not disturbed in any way;
- tight and easy to use;
- access to water is only inside the hive, so insects do not fly out in the cold.
Before installation in the tray, the vacuum structure is filled with water. Such a product is made of transparent plastic, through which the liquid level is clearly visible.
How to make a drinking bowl for bees with your own hands
With self-construction, drinkers use such tools and building materials:
- plastic ordinary bottle, the volume of which is 500 ml;
- clerical knife;
- marker;
- a piece of foam, the thickness of which is 2 cm;
- wide tape;
- small nail;
- ruler.
As soon as spring comes, the bees fly out of the hive even in cold weather and, in contact with ice water, become stiff. In this case, the beekeeper installs a drinking bowl under the glass case, and as a result, the water in it is kept warm for a long time. If the stationary apiary is located at a far distance from the house, in this case similar structures are installed without valves.
Also, beekeepers independently install common bee drinkers made of car tires and large outdoor heated structures. The first structures are constructed from tires, which are pre-cut along the circumference.
Outdoor large drinkers are equipped with a special heating device – a water heater for an aquarium. Below, under the gutter through which water flows, they put a container with stones or gravel.
In this place, all the water from the board is collected. Such a spare tank is used if the plastic bottle runs out of water.
Drinking bowl for bees from a plastic bottle
The simplest drinker is made from a plastic bottle. This design is very convenient and compact. Then it is installed near the bee hive.
In the manufacture and installation of such a drinker, the following actions are performed:
- From a small piece of foam plastic, a rectangle of this size is made – 7×12 cm.
- They take a marker and make the necessary markup with it. In this case, the large side of the foam blank is divided into 2 parts and 1 line is drawn in the middle.
- Make an indent from the edge equal to 10 cm, and then put another 1 mark.
- The resulting foam blank is divided in half in thickness.
- To the full depth at a distance of 10 cm from the edge of the polystyrene rectangle, screw the bottle neck.
- On the other hand, the foam blanks are cut to the middle of 50% of the thickness.
- Opposite the bottle, a trough of arbitrary shape is cut out with a clerical knife.
- At the same time, free space is left for insects along its edges. I calculate the width of the gutter as follows: the width of the adhesive tape minus 10 mm. For example, the width of the adhesive tape is 60 mm. This means that the width of the gutter is made no more than 50 mm.
- The circle formed by the bottle neck is divided into 2 parts.
- Under the slope cut out the one that is directed to the gutter.
- On the contrary, the boards with a notch are marked with a marker, and then a hole is pierced with a small nail.
- Water flows through this place.
- The bottom of the bee structure is completely glued with construction tape.
- So get a small reservoir where water flows.
- They draw water into a plastic bottle, turn it over and insert it into a pre-prepared hole.
When applying, it is necessary to monitor the water level in this bee structure. From time to time you need to wash the plastic bottle from the inside.
After filling the bottle with water, it is screwed upside down and the liquid immediately enters the groove.
Conclusion
A drinking bowl for bees helps the beekeeper to save a large number of these insects from death. Each beekeeper should treat the issue of providing them with water in the apiary with special responsibility. To solve this problem, the above types of bee drinkers are installed – the bees do not stiffen in the winter and are always provided with water.
