Water is as essential to a colony as forage, and it is the most neglected part of apiary planning.

What bees use water for

• Cooling: Water spread in the hive and fanned lowers the temperature. In hot weather this is the largest use
• Diluting stores: Crystallised honey and fondant have to be dissolved
• Brood food: Nurse bees need water to produce it

Water consumption rises sharply in hot weather and in early spring when brood rearing begins.

Why it must be provided

If there is no water nearby the bees will find some — in a neighbour's pool, a livestock trough, a dripping tap, wet laundry.

This is the commonest source of complaints, and once the habit is formed it is very hard to break. The water source must be in place before the colonies arrive.

What bees prefer

Bees do not necessarily choose the cleanest water. They are drawn to water that is:

• Warm: Shallow, sunlit water is preferred to cold, deep water
• Slightly salty or mineral-rich
• Easy to land on: They must be able to stand and drink without drowning
• Reliable: A source that dries up loses them

Setting one up

• A shallow container in the sun
• Landing surfaces: Stones, floating wood, gravel, moss. Without them bees drown
• Placed near the hives but not directly in the flight path
• Sheltered from wind
• Kept topped up; an unreliable source sends them elsewhere

A dripping arrangement over a gravel tray works well because it stays fresh and never dries.

Establishing the habit

The best time is early spring, before the bees have found alternatives. Placing the source close to the hives at first, then moving it if needed, helps.

Trying to establish a new source in midsummer, after the bees have settled on a neighbour's pool, rarely works.

Hygiene

• Clean the container regularly; stagnant water spreads disease between colonies
• Do not let it become a route for spores from other apiaries
• Avoid metals that corrode

Winter

Bees need water in winter too, and take it from condensation inside the hive. This is one reason a hive should not be sealed completely airtight.