overkill bee waterer but it looks pretty!

tlynn · August 07, 2008, 08:01:07 PM

I set up a bee watering station which like everything else I do turned into a project. I couldn't just get a dog waterer, right? It's on the other side of the house from the bees, about 60 yds away. I threw in some goldfish to keep down the mosquito larvae. The only problem is it gets sun all day and I am having to put a little chair umbrella over it in the middle of the day to keep it from heating up too much and killing the fish.

And to my surprise, the bees found it after a couple days and are visiting it frequently. Seems like they are coming mostly morning and early evening. They prefer the sides of the barrel where the water is seeping out, but I caught one on a lily pad! Probably will be more accessible when more greenery fills in on top of the water. And every visit I see means one less visit to a neighbor's pool!

SgtMaj · August 07, 2008, 08:48:32 PM

I am so glad you posted that... that is perfect for solving a dilema I had... how to give them a water source that won't constantly be drying up. I was going to try to run a hose out to a bird bath and have water trickling into it... well, you can already see it was going to be difficult. That's just simple and brilliant. I like the idea that you'll be able to hear the water running, too. And I'll bet you could even sink it into the ground if you wanted to.

One question, does the running water/waves bother them at all?

tlynn · August 07, 2008, 09:44:30 PM

The bees do seem to take their time trying to find the right place to land on the lilies. Maybe they are always careful around deep water, I don't know. So they may have a bit of a problem with the water movement. The lily pads tend to move to the opposite side of the pump and don't really jiggle a lot, though.

They didn't take to my bird bath at all, but I didn't give them a place to land either. And it's only 10 feet away. For some reason they seem to like to fly a ways to get water.

Someone else suggested burying something impermeable, I think it was a satellite dish they filled with peat and kept the peat moist. I'm curious about that and will try it in another location. I just thought a water garden would look nicer in the front yard. Here's a link to a site that gave me the idea, and it has info on what plants to use (I couldn't find any of the surface growing water species in my area). http://members.aol.com/glennapiar/beepond.html

sc-bee · August 08, 2008, 12:10:46 AM

I have the same thing but don't have the running water. Mine breeds misquitoes really bad! I've tried clorox etc no luck. Can't find anyone that can tell me if the dunks are toxic to bees --- I thought they were a form of bt???

SgtMaj · August 08, 2008, 12:44:39 AM

sc-bee, toss some goldfish or even large guppies in to take care of the 'skeeters. Goldfish are wonderful at that... just a couple will keep the pond clear of any mosquito larva.

sc-bee · August 08, 2008, 01:07:01 AM

Tried that can't get them to live? Belly Up.

Someone told me goldfish would not eat misquote larva, shiners would??? I aint got a clue.

rdy-b · August 08, 2008, 02:04:45 AM

around here we go to VECTOR control -mosquito abatement -and they give use special little fish that eat the sketer larvae gota use small fish for the horse troughs because the raccoons catch the bigger ones-you can also have them placed for you at no fee-west nile viruse is a big deal around these parts-RDY-B

SgtMaj · August 08, 2008, 02:07:46 AM

goldfish sure as heck will take them out... Growing up we had a pond out back we used regular (at that time) 5 cents ea. feeder goldfish, tossed about 5 in, and about 2 would survive the neighbor's cats... but they'd keep the skeeters gone 'til next year when we tossed another 5 in.

Make a couple of rock-caves down in the bottom so they'll be able to escape predators.

rdy-b · August 08, 2008, 02:12:56 AM

how come you didnt stock it with bass or catfish-only need afew to get them to latch on-how big was the pond-RDY-B

SgtMaj · August 08, 2008, 02:15:13 AM

Too small for them... maybe 1000 gallons or so, and split between three ponds and a little river that connected them.

rdy-b · August 08, 2008, 02:17:58 AM

maybe it needed some srgt majors :-D RDY-B

tlynn · August 08, 2008, 08:44:43 AM

The barrel was steeped in larvae before I put in the goldfish. I put in 4, 2 died and maybe 3 or 4 days later there were zero larvae as far as I could tell. Saw a big tree frog hanging around it last night. Wonder what they'll do with tadpoles?

SgtMaj · August 08, 2008, 01:21:57 PM

Depends on how big they are... If they are small enough to fit in the goldfish's mouth, they'll probably eat them.

poka-bee · August 08, 2008, 01:26:34 PM

Tlynn that's a great idea! Looks pretty & makes a little ecosystem w/less work for you! The goldfish will keep the mosquito out. I use em in my stock tanks. If you have other water plants some tadpoles will survive thru hiding. Fairy moss or duckweed is cheap for the top (many places will let you take a handful home)of the water & will shade keeping it somewhat cooler. Water hyacinth also.Hornwort grows very well to oxygenate, just toss in. Another cool plant that you can put right in water liliy pot is water Hawthorne. It is dormant when the lilies are growing. Has interesting long leaves & a delightful vanilla smelling flower in fall & very early spring. It takes a bit of fiddling to find a balance but once you do you just have to add water lost through leaking & evaporation. Put a tablespoon or so of uniodized salt in also, keeps fish healthier & more attractive to bees. The bees seem to like the "real" water w/fish poop & plant matter. Kudos to you! Jody

Scadsobees · August 08, 2008, 02:20:07 PM

Quote from: sc-bee on August 08, 2008, 12:10:46 AM
I have the same thing but don't have the running water. Mine breeds misquitoes really bad! I've tried clorox etc no luck. Can't find anyone that can tell me if the dunks are toxic to bees --- I thought they were a form of bt???

I'm pretty sure that they are bt. Check the label.

Other ideas are some soap (breaks the surface tension so their breather don't stay at the top, and they drown) or a small slick of mineral oil (forms a barrier on the surface that they can't get their breather through). I don't know what these would do to plants and bees though (I don't think it would hurt the bees)....

Keith13 · August 08, 2008, 06:00:43 PM

there is also a minnow called drum roll please............. the Mosquito fish they eat larvae primarily. New Orleans has been putting them in the abandoned swimming pools to keep the skeeter population down

Keith

rdy-b · August 08, 2008, 06:11:10 PM

Quote from: keith13 on August 08, 2008, 06:00:43 PM
there is also a minnow called drum roll please............. the Mosquito fish they eat larvae primarily. New Orleans has been putting them in the abandoned swimming pools to keep the skeeter population down

Keith

Yea thats it those are the ones we get from vector control-the highly prized-mosquito fish-Right on 8-) RDY-B