David Crawford wrote:
> There were several hundreds of bees sitting on the moist dirt, I
> assume drawing water. The 12 hives that were using the dirt
> water, sit 10' to 20' from a year around creek. Why did they
> choose the dirty, fertilized water? Minerals?
Hi, you may get a more complete answer later. Bees don't seem to
much like fresh or running water. Their own personal safety seems
likely to be a major reason, if they have to use moving or deep
water they risk drowning. I think that wet earth is usually their
favourite place. In my garden pond they use the boggy margins
every time. I guess that they are likely to pick up minerals from
dirty water -- I doubt that they want the fertiliser itself :-)
Regards,
--
Gordon Scott [log in to unmask] Compuserve 100332,3310
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Basingstoke Beekeeper [log in to unmask]