Today I’m going to show you how to revive tired bees. You see, we’re big fans of bees at Moral Fibres, but our poor bees are in decline, due to neonicotinoid pesticide usage, as well as habitat loss and pollution. Our fuzzy friends need all the help they can get.
It’s all well and good when the bees are buzzing around, doing their thing. But have you ever seen a tired, struggling, or apparently dying or dead bee in your home or garden? When I’ve seen bees like this I’ve always assumed that they were dying or dead. Ever the optimist! However, the other day my other half told me they’re not dying, just tired. And that you can actually revive these bees quickly and easily using only sugar and water. Let me show you how to revive these tired bees.
How to Revive Tired Bees
It’s true, a simple solution of sugar and water helps revive tired and exhausted bees.
To create this energy drink for bees to revive tired bees, the RSPB suggests mixing two tablespoons of white, granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water. Then place the sugar/water mix on a plate or spoon. Do not add any more water otherwise, the bee could drown.
Next place the bee on the plate or spoon, where it will have a little drink, hopefully helping it to gather the energy it needs to fly back to its hive.
Some Do’s & Don’ts For Feeding Bees
There are some do’s and don’ts for reviving tired bees.
Don’t be tempted to offer tired bees honey. In most cases, the honey isn’t suitable as a lot of honey is imported and may not always be right for native British bees. And only ever offer white granulated sugar when you need to revive a bee. Never offer demerara, or any artificial or diet sweeteners as these could be harmful to bees.
Don’t leave any sugar-water solution sitting out in your garden for bees to drink from at their leisure. This can prevent the bees from gathering precious pollen and could be detrimental to their health. Instead, use this sugar-water technique only as an emergency when a tired bee is clearly in need of reviving. Think of it as bee CPR!
Thankfully I haven’t seen any tired bees since learning this useful tip to try it out. However, knowing some very basic “thirst aid” (!) for bees can go a long way in helping out the bees to rebuild their depleted population sizes.
Why Are Bees Important?
Bees are crucial to help maintain the health of our environment, and for our food supply. The Food And Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations says that ” close to 75% of the world’s crops producing
fruits and seeds for human consumption depend, at least in part, on pollinators for sustained production, yield, and quality“. This means without bees, we would struggle to feed ourselves.
Being able to revive tired bees is one key aspect. Another bee-friendly step that you can take is to plant a bee-friendly garden. Or, if you don’t have a garden, here’s how you can help the bees in other ways.
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