Water For Bees, Part 2

Last Fall we noticed that a new neighbor across the canyon had moved in several bee hives, and that his honey bees were drowning in our bird bath because the sides of the dish were apparently too steep for them to climb out of the water.  See Water For Bees from November 26, 2014.

I was so impressed with the design of a landing platform for bees from City Boy Hens that I decided to make one for our yard, although I did not go so far as to make the very handsome exterior container for it.  Instead, we have it sitting in a large fiberglass pot.

Landing Platform

First I went to the lumberyard and bought a cedar fence board and to Smart & Final to buy a food-grade five gallon plastic bucket.  I bought a regular bucket from the lumberyard first, but when I reviewed City Boy's instructions, I realized that the water in the bucket would go into the hive, and so it should be a food grade bucket to avoid introducing unnecessary chemicals into the hive.

Next I cut the cedar board into lengths that would fit inside the bucket and used the jig saw to cut two circular pieces for the body of the landing platform.  I also cut some smaller strips of cedar to use as cleats to join the two circular pieces together, and then drilled quarter inch holes in the piece.  I did not use any glue on the platform because, again, glue would introduce unnecessary chemicals.

Cleats Secure The Two Sides

The next step is to fill the bucket with water.

We've seen bees on it several times, but it will probably become more popular with them in the warmer weather later on.  Meanwhile, the bees continue to patronize our broccoli and lavender plants to make their honey.