How Do Marbles Help the Bees?
@Ruby3881 (1963)
Canada
April 8, 2016 3:31pm CST
Am I the only one who didn't know about this? Apparently people are creating bee watering stations, the most simple of which is a bowl of water filled with marbles.
It turns out that bees often try to get water in places like bird baths, swimming pools, and ponds. But often they fall in and can't get out again. So a little bowl filled with marbles or stones is a special gift for the bees. They can land on the marbles and stay safe, while dipping their heads down to get a cool drink of water.
Anything we can do to help the bees is important these days, so I'm going to tell my Katydid about this and encourage her to create a safe space for the bees in her fairy garden 
You can get a lot more elaborate with your bee watering station, of course. Look around the internet for inspirations. I love the watering station in this video - plus the lady's love and respect for the bees is so heart-warming. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB2gTPKySdA
[Image: Mircea Ploscar/Pixabay/CC0]
You can get a lot more elaborate with your bee watering station, of course. Look around the internet for inspirations. I love the watering station in this video - plus the lady's love and respect for the bees is so heart-warming. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB2gTPKySdA
[Image: Mircea Ploscar/Pixabay/CC0]11 people like this
13 responses
@Castlerock34 (2255)
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
8 Apr 16
I had no idea about that, very interesting though
2 people like this
@Castlerock34 (2255)
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
11 Apr 16
@Ruby3881 Thank you so much for sharing, its always good to learn new things
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
11 Apr 16
@Castlerock34 That's what makes places like MyLot so much fun! 
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74988)
• United States
8 Apr 16
Ohhh what a good idea. That would be perfect in a fairy garden. I was thinking of creating one with my daughter. I saw a neat idea using an old wheelbarrow to make one. I actually had never heard this about marbles and the bees. I think I will do this. I hope that it won't make a breeding ground for mosquitoes though. I think I would have to empty it and rinse the gunk of the marbles often.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
8 Apr 16
I worried about the mosquitoes too. Not sure if anyone has addressed that concern.
I thought of maybe adding a few drops of lavender oil to the water, as the bees are said to like lightly scented water and I hoped it would help keep the water sweet longer. Not sure if that would keep mosquitoes away, but lavender is said to repel them....
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
8 Apr 16
This is so lovely Kyla. I had no idea..but marbles are so cool anyway.
I dont have a garden here which I miss greatly.
Lovely video watching now.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
22 Apr 16
@TiarasOceanView A very useful sun catcher that way.
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
10 Apr 16
@Ruby3881 Could do my friend..good suggestion thank you..they are so pretty in the sun.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
29 Apr 16
Like you, I've never heard about this either. Although I didn't even realize that bees might want or need water at all. I wonder if the bees that we don't like, ie. hornets, wasps or others like drinking water in this fashion too? I wouldn't want to help them out at all since they are usually considered pests. Anything to help the bee population flourish and be able to migrate safely sounds good though.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
29 Apr 16
I also had no idea about them needing a source of water. I guess I just figured they got it from the plant nectar.
I suppose these watering stations may help the related pests, such as wasps. But there are some among them that also pollinate crops. And some that feed on insects that are more of an annoyance.
We used to get paper wasps that would make nests under the eaves of our house. I would get hubby to knock them down, because they were eating away at the wood of the house and even flying in. Then I discovered they are beneficial in many ways. We sort of encouraged them to move elsewhere on the property, but stopped shooing them away. We were able to live quite harmoniously after that :)
1 person likes this
@irenen1 (228)
• New Bedford, Massachusetts
12 May 16
I have set up very shallow butterfly stations that the bees frequent. When they need filling, the bees hover around me to let me know, just like the hummingbirds do.
@Gina145 (3949)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
10 Apr 16
@Ruby3881 I've only been stung once with no serious consequences but I'm still scared of them. When I was at school we had twins in our class who were extremely allergic to bees and there was major panic every time a been entered out classroom. That may have influenced the way I feel about them.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
10 Apr 16
@Gina145 I used to really be nervous about getting that close to bees, but then I spent some time doing activities that put me right up close to them. I really am not afraid of individual bees anymore, though I wouldn't want them to swarm me or anything.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
8 Apr 16
It's such a simple thing, isn't it? I can't believe more of us don't already know about it.
@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
13 Apr 16
You are not the only one who didn't know this. We often will see bees at the hummingbird feeder.
1 person likes this
