Suitable watering holes for bumblebees, bees and beetles are hard to find in cities and on hot summer days. Become a bee savior and build an insect waterer!
Bees in particular need water to quench their thirst and to build their nests. Create a drinking trough for the balcony or garden in no time at all from a discarded bowl, stones and some moss. You can also support the small beneficial insects
water for insects
Bees get most of the fluid they need from the nectar they collect. But in order to feed their brood, to quench their own thirst and also to cool the beehive, additional water is needed. If natural water points such as ponds, puddles and morning dew are lost due to the weather and above all due to surface sealing, construction projects and agricultural monocultures, the small beneficial insects can be supported with self-erected insect waterers.
You don’t need much for it. Most insects cannot swim. Therefore, plan safe landing pads and swimming aids – if possible made of natural and weather-resistant materials.
You need this:
- Flat bowl or saucer, here Ø 40 cm
- Knots of different thicknesses, cut to length
- stones
- Natural materials such as pine cones, bark, moss, shells, bark mulch
- Possibly hand saw
You can also decorate the insect pot with a small green plant, some colored stones or marbles.
And this is how it’s done:
Arrange the stones and wood in the bowl according to your taste and fill in the gaps and the edge of the trough with some moss, bark mulch or mussels. A piece of tree bark also looks good. Then fill the coaster with fresh water.
Important: at least half of the wood and the pebbles must look out of the water so that the insects can find enough space to land safely.
Care tip:
You should change the water at regular intervals and also clean the drinking trough thoroughly with a root brush from time to time to prevent the spread of pathogens. It is also important that the water point is always full. Just a few unsuccessful visits and the insects won’t fly to them anymore. Even if the thought is good: never put honey or sugar water in or on the bee waterer! The animals would then become aggressive, see each other as competitors and, in the worst case, kill each other in the fight for the special treat.
