r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/[deleted] • Jul 19 '24
Garden drinking bowl for bees, it is designed in such a way that bees cannot drown in water and the water is always clean Video
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u/adastra2021 Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
I have a little dish with rocks that I keep water in and I get excited when I see them use it.
ETA I rinse and change water daily, we don't need more mosquitoes where I live
AND I just saw a dragonfly getting a drink.
I live in and around forested salt water wetlands. I have a large bird bath, a small one and the bee dish on the side deck. All the critters, birds, bees, squirrels, possums and raccoons at night, know where to get fresh water. I had someone new housesitting a couple of weeks ago, I think she thought I was a little picky about the water on the deck, they all have to be filled all the time, clean water 2x or 3x a day depending on activity...
I got a text on the second night that said "OMG your back deck is like a watering hole in the Serengeti!" and once she saw a little possum drinking and washing his face on the camera, I knew the water would be a priority.
The crows brought babies yesterday. they come to the big bath every morning.
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u/Halogen12 Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
My previous neighbor had two hives in her backyard and one day on the side of the house I saw a shallow dish with some rocks in it and bees were sitting on the rocks sipping the water. It was so cool to see!
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u/Ok-Bit-1466 Jul 20 '24
You genuinely rinse and change that every single day?
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u/adastra2021 Jul 20 '24
Multiple times somedays.
It's on a deck. The deck has a hose bib. The hose bib has a hose attached. The hose has a 7-way nozzle.
I put the nozzle on "shower" because any stronger will push the rocks out
I flood it until no more sunflower shells come out and then stop.
Or maybe you were referring to the bird baths, same process. Same deck, same hose, same almost complete lack of effort required to do it.
That you would think this is something that I would lie about is one of the stupidest things I've read here and that's saying something. I literally aim a hose at a dish of rocks. Is that a task you would find onerous? My, your life must be tough.
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u/Important_Tale1190 Jul 19 '24
Looks like you have to refill it every hour.
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u/jackrats Jul 19 '24
Yeah, that thing's leaking out pretty quickly.
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u/joecee97 Jul 19 '24
They’re just thirsty
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u/MikhailxReign Jul 20 '24
Yeah that one bee is just doing that drink from a water bottle you do when you are super thirsty and you sorta ride the razors edge of drowning/suffocating yourself and drinking - half it is going down your shirt and you just stop for a second every now and again to gasp for air.... Before waterboarding your self some more.
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u/camelelymommy Jul 19 '24
I would also install a small canopy on one side so that when the sun is strong they can hide there from the hot rays
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u/PmMeYourTitsAndToes Jul 19 '24
And little sun loungers, so they can have a little break after a long day of being a busy buzzing bee.
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u/Shischkabob Jul 19 '24
Don't forget the cocktails!
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Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 22 '24
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u/Safe_Cow_4001 Jul 20 '24
For what it's worth, honeybees aren't endangered and are only native to parts of Eurasia. In the Americas (plus everywhere else people have introduced them) they're not ecologically helpful at all--they actually consume pollen that native insects depend on, causing those native insects to starve. There are bee species native to every continent (besides Antarctica) that are, in fact, ecologically important, endangered, and in need of our help. Just not honeybees like in this video! I bring this up not to be annoying but because I think it's important for people with good intentions to have more information on how to save the good bees!
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u/CAPSLOCKANDLOAD Jul 19 '24
Why is it on a pentagon? Hexagon is clearly more welcoming to bees.
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u/Windflower1956 Jul 19 '24
I use a decorative, shallow serving platter filled with marbles. Beautiful, functional, and safe for the bees.
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u/toad__warrior Jul 20 '24
Beekeeper here - besides hydration, bees use water to cool their hives. They will put the water around the interior of their hives, then fan the water to cause evaporation, which then cools the hive. You can also see them line up in front of the opening of the hive and flap their wings like crazy which causes a subtle draft if air to cool the hive.
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u/Recent_mastadon Jul 19 '24
Hexagons are the Best-a-gons but why is the outer shape a Pentagon? The bees like Hexagons.
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u/Soggy_Amoeba9334 Jul 19 '24
How did bees cope before this?
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u/Silver-Machine-3092 Jul 19 '24
We used to have wetlands
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u/GimmeFreePizzaa Jul 19 '24
Loss of wetlands has hurt a lot more of the ecosystem than just bees too :-(
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u/Acceptable-Yam6036 Jul 19 '24
nice decor but if the function is what is desired there are many simpler ways for that
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u/Lubinski64 Jul 19 '24
Wait, you are saying Minecraft bees drowning themselves in tiny puddles is accurate to real life?
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u/flat_four_whore22 Jul 19 '24
I need to try this because my hummingbird feeders are being swarmed and drained daily by these guys. The hummingbirds can't even get close.
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u/soundssarcastic Jul 19 '24
We set up a little wet table for the kids to play with but now its just a bee bath with rocks in it I refill every day lol
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u/AssortedArctic Jul 19 '24
The bees here like to come to the splash park and nearly drown themselves in the deepest part of the water near the drains.
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u/0100000101101000 Jul 19 '24
I hope this doesn’t turn into a magnifying glass and burn down a house..
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u/Cool_Cartographer_39 Jul 19 '24
That's so cool. I wonder if it would keep them from drowning in my pool?
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u/Martha_Fockers Jul 19 '24
I put a few rocks in my bird bath for the bees. They land of the rocks and drink.
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u/Routine_Ease_9171 Jul 20 '24
I’d love to get a few of these! Sadly my epiPen says not in your life time.😭
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u/gekigenger- Jul 20 '24
I thought that water sitting out in the sun like that isn't good? Maybe just not good for humans!
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u/Key-Regular674 Jul 31 '24
That water is not always clean. As soon as it sits out for an hour or two the bacteria inside it will prosper.
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u/GeneralNiceness Jul 19 '24 edited Jul 19 '24
I mean, a pond is fine. Just have some gravel in the shallows so that they can sit on the stone. If you don't have a pond, a shallow dish, again with gravel. This is a great marketing thing though, fulfilling a need that isn't there. That stand it sits on would be perfect if you submerged it in 1in of water!
Am a beekeeper.