The annual amount of water?

Why?

For a well-developed production colony, about 100 litres of water per year is an indicative benchmark in a temperate climate. The actual quantity varies according to colony size, the amount of brood, the weather, the exposure of the apiary, the nectar flows and periods of intense heat.

Water is hardly stored in the hive: it must be brought in as needs arise. On very hot and dry days, the water foragers may therefore work intensively, sometimes from early morning, even when flying conditions are not ideal.

What to understand

Water serves first of all the physiological needs of the colony. The nurse bees use it in particular to prepare brood food and to feed the brood. A colony with a great deal of open brood therefore has particularly high needs.

Water also plays an important role in the thermal regulation of the hive. Through evaporation, the bees can cool the brood nest during intense heat and maintain a humidity compatible with the good development of the brood.

The bees do not always choose the water that looks clearest to us. They are often attracted by slightly mineralised water. This does not mean they should be allowed to drink from polluted sources: at the apiary, a clean, stable and regularly maintained watering point remains preferable.

What to remember

The figure of about 100 litres per year is not an absolute value but a useful order of magnitude for understanding the importance of water in the life of a strong colony.

A watering point is most useful when no reliable water source is available in the immediate vicinity of the apiary. It should be installed before the hot periods, with supports allowing the bees to land without drowning.

Further reading

► Which water for our bees?
► The collection of water and its storage
► Water collection in honey bees: influence of weather and colony size
► Practical Guide: 2.9 May disease