I'm saving bees from the pool. Why are our bees dying?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (205719)
Walnut Creek, California
June 12, 2019 11:28pm CST
Why are so many bees dying in our pool? When I find them struggling on the surface, I find a leaf, remove them from the pool, and place them on the side, where it's dry.
Today, I batted 1 for 4, or .250. One of the bees I save survived, and eventually flew away, hopefully to pollinate our plants and raise a few families.
When I initially saved her, she started back toward to pool. So I splashed some water where she could drink it and she stopped and drank the water. Within ten minutes she was safely dry (but hydrated) and had flown off.
Is global warming (whether man-made or a part of the Earth's usual cycles) responsible for the decrease in the bee population? I have no clue.
Are bees becoming dehydrated and climbing into pools (and rivers and lakes) to get water, where they ultimately drown? I have no clue.
But I'm going to keep saving bees. I am a part of the world's eco-system.
22 people like this
21 responses
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
13 Jun 19
didn't'cha say 'twas 105 this week 'lready?? those lil bees need a safe place to drink. shallow bowl with pebbles 'n water, somethin' with a twig they can climb out with - somethin'. much'f the bees decline 'd be most likely linked to pesticides. folks dislike all lil critters out'n their lawns...
'n behalf 'f those bees ~ thanks much fer yer 'fforts!
6 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
13 Jun 19
@TheHorse most 're docile 's long 's not threatened. i've all sorts 'f floaty thingies fer 'em to get out 'f various predicaments here. we gotta protect 'em any ways we can :)
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
13 Jun 19
@TheHorse ya could put one'n yer porch :) there's lil anti-skeeter pellets ya can get to 'void those deliveries 'n such'll not harm the bees 'r birds who might visit. i use anti-skeeter pellets durin' 'season' (wow, we're'n a roll!) out'n the pond, the bird bath 'n the stock tanks. when 't rains, i put 'em'n the large puddles, too.
2 people like this
@rsa101 (37952)
• Philippines
13 Jun 19
I have read some articles about the relationship of bees to the global warming and most of them are saying there is a connection that there is an effect on how the bees react differently to our changing climate pattern that confuses them of the season they are in so they are not able to cope with the changes.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
5 Jul 19
I believe you may be getting the extra exercise rescuing bees from the pool because they're attracted to the chemicals and salts in the pool water.
IF, by chance, you do take @crazyhorseladycx's suggestion and put out a shallow bowl of water for them, you will need to add a small amount of salt to the water or few bees will be more interested in collecting/drinking it than the pool water. 
Bees sense salt with their feet at even lower concentrations than sugar.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
5 Jul 19
@crazyhorseladycx Thank you. 
Oh, the poor bees... forced to drink plain water when what they want is something a bit more to their liking...
To be perfectly honest, I didn't know about bees liking salt until I read that article. 
Oh, the poor bees... forced to drink plain water when what they want is something a bit more to their liking...
To be perfectly honest, I didn't know about bees liking salt until I read that article. 1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
6 Jul 19
@DaddyEvil yer welcome :) perhaps my well water 'tis 'nough salt'n 't? search me.
no worries ~ big hugs!
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
5 Jul 19
great 'dvice @DaddyEvil! i'd plum fergotten the salt thingy. prolly coz i've no pool? thus they're forced to drink what 'tis 'vailable, lol.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (40515)
• United States
13 Jun 19
Good for you! I heard recently about someone who killed a lot of bees and I thought, "Why in the world would you do such a thing?!!! We need bees to live!"
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205719)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Jul 19
@1creekgirl A simple and elegant explanation.
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
13 Jun 19
it's probably all the damn roundup in everything messing them up.
could be dehydrating.
2 people like this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
5 Jul 19
thank you. you are one of the few that care about our state of the world 
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458091)
• Switzerland
6 Jul 19
@TheHorse The bees go inside the water not only to drink, but also to cool down and to bring water to their hives. It is totally normal for them to land on water and to stay there for a while. May be the bee you thought was unable to get out was simply absorbing more water to bring to the hive.
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
13 Jun 19
I would save a bee but not a wasp!
2 people like this
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
14 Jun 19
I save them too! Bumble bees eat happily while I pick berries on th honeysuckle.
1 person likes this
@mynameiskate (2562)
•
13 Jun 19
Good idea. People have bird bathes and seed feeders why not bee pool by the bee flower garden. Not sure if the chlorine in the pool water would be stronger than normal at their level?
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
13 Jun 19
I've read lot of reasons, can't remember any right now, but I save an enourmous bumblebee yesterday and maybe a very small one. The huge one was stuck in the stable, so I managed to get it in a box and take it outside. The small one was in water bucket. It was alive when I took it out, but I didn't see it fly off. Hopeful though, it was nice and warm.
@wolfgirl569 (95165)
• Marion, Ohio
13 Jun 19
Glad that one made it. They are in no danger of dehydration around here.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (29129)
• United Kingdom
13 Jun 19
I think there isn't much doubt that the mass use of pesticides is one of the major causes. How could we even have thought that they would affect the insects we didn't like and not the others? And who knows what effects these chemicals have - they could cause disorientation or thirst, who knows?
1 person likes this
@just4him (306196)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
14 Jun 19
It's good you're doing your part to save our bees.
