We often see pictures of bees collecting nectar from flowers and blossoms, but they also need to collect water.

The bees use water to cool their hives, help feed their young and also to keep honey at the right hydration level.

On Sunday I was out walking around taking pictures and heard the buzz of bees. However I did not see any flowers or blossoms near and was trying to figure out where they were.

Then I looked down and saw them around a sprinkler line that had been leaking a bit of water.

The bees were collecting water to take back to their hive. I have read that bees like to gather around water that is a bit stagnant. One theory is that they can smell the water because of the decaying material in it. This can be a good thing as it keeps them from visiting pools treated with chlorine.

Here you can see them around the pipe connection where it has been leaking. They have to sip the water to fill up so it takes them some time to fill up before heading back to the hive.

I was being very careful as I bent down to take pictures. The bees were getting pretty close to me, but I knew that they were intent on getting water so didn’t worry too much about getting stung. Unfortunately I was wearing nice shoes and pants or I would have knelt down to try and get some even better pictures.

However, if you look closely you can see the proboscis of the bees as they suck up the water.

I like this picture as you can see a good view of the wings and abdomen of one bee and a frontal view of another.

To me bees are really fascinating creatures. They are responsible for so many things in the cycle of life. They pollinate many different crops, produce delicious honey and it is just amazing how they fly about with all they carry.

Someday I need to visit a beekeeper to learn more about honeybees.

Steven