Bees and Hot Spa Baths

Would anyone care to comment on the following issue?

Bees seem to be attracted to the water of hot spa baths.

The baths contain water with added chlorine and are also heated. The bees seem to hover around these, with some gathering the splashed liquid on the sides, other bees attempting the breast stroke and drowning.

Some baths have been emptied of water and have covers over them, when the covers are lifted there are 20-30 dead bees on the bottom. I suppose the bees have crawled through the gaps and then have died.

The hives are around 200 metres from where these baths/hot tubs are being sold and have just seemed to cause a problem now, last year there were no reported problems.

I suppose bees are the collecting water to raise brood, obviously not enough condensation in the hives! and the issue may diminish further in the season.

Any comments/views welcome.

They must be very upmarket bees in Surrey. Bees in less favoured parts of the country make do with muddy puddles and are grateful for them.*

As you suggest I can only assume they are collecting water. Perhaps the heat makes it attractive on cold days?

*1st Bee: Puddles! Luxury! In my day we had to collect water from sheep urine...
2nd Bee: Sheeps' urine? We used to dream of sheep's urine. I was sent to collect water in a leaky sock from the sweat off the pigs' backs...
3rd Bee: I was raised in Surrey and went to the local hot spa...

Thanks RoofTops.

On a cool winters days, the bees like nothing else than a relaxing dip in a hot spa bath, it deals with the days aches and pains. It beats meeting at the local drinking hole! 'The Murky Puddle'.

The Spa people think I can tell the bees to go off somewhere else...

Giving the bees a nice trough of water, with straw, somewhere close even along the flight path from the hives to the 'Country Spa', isn't likely to convince them to switch from the nice man's hot spa baths, is it?

Tell him that you've told them not to do it again and they are very sorry. So if he sees any more bees taking a spa, they're not yours.

keithgrimes said:

Tell him that you've told them not to do it again and they are very sorry. So if he sees any more bees taking a spa, they're not yours.

Click to expand...

that made me smile - thank you

Maybe they are not your bees but mine. I guess mine are in flying distance and I have noticed they are looking very clean and invigorated lately.

I have a hot tub and the bees will not leave it alone as a watering station despite having 2 garden ponds within 10 meters of the hives. So far this year they have yet to find it but last year I could not stop them getting under the cover and invariably drowning. And yes, I do live in Surrey !

Seriously, when bees establish a water source they generally tell the others and keep visiting it all season if it's always available!

I try to provide a relatively nearby water source at my apiaries to try and prevent they getting used to the neighbors pond or whatever!

Probably the temperature is a big attraction. Only thing that I could think of that may persuade them otherwise would be a water source with a bit of sugar dissolved into it.

YorkshireBees said:

Seriously, when bees establish a water source they generally tell the others and keep visiting it all season if it's always available!

I try to provide a relatively nearby water source at my apiaries to try and prevent they getting used to the neighbors pond or whatever!

Probably the temperature is a big attraction. Only thing that I could think of that may persuade them otherwise would be a water source with a bit of sugar dissolved into it.

Click to expand...

My bees favour a silted up pond It warms up quickly in the morning sun and has loads of sodden moss to sit on
VM

YorkshireBees said:

Seriously, when bees establish a water source they generally tell the others and keep visiting it all season if it's always available!

I try to provide a relatively nearby water source at my apiaries to try and prevent they getting used to the neighbors pond or whatever!

Probably the temperature is a big attraction. Only thing that I could think of that may persuade them otherwise would be a water source with a bit of sugar dissolved into it.

Click to expand...

Thanks YB,

With hindsight, providing a water source a few weeks ago might have worked if I knew they would be running a hot spa bath out in the open in February. I'll perhaps try a little sugar dissolved in the water trough.

He made a comment to the farm owner that all these dead bees are not helping the 'honey bees plight' something has to be done to stop them dying, bless him.

Perhaps I should suggest running a hot spa bath/tub outside in the middle of February isn't helping the global warning crisis. and now he is contributing to the death of honey bees!

I had a photo (lost in computer crash) of my nice neighbour in his hot-tub with 30+ bees sitting on the edge drinking and watching him...

Seems to me that bees notice water that is smelly.
Stagnant waterbutts, even septic tanks... Lots of stories.
Perhaps the Chlorine (and other hot tub chemicals) signpost the water, whether or not its actually an attractive smell to the bees.
I'm sure I've come across references to people adding some flavouring essences to water, to bring a new (or a beekeeper-preferred) source to the bees attention. Maybe a bucket of hot-tub water would be useful to initially signpost your own (not a hot tub) drinking facility.
They might like sweet, but they'll find smelly more easily.

But put your bee pub in a very sunny spot, so it warms up. My shady pond is pretty much ignored.