Everywhere there is talk of bee mortality, and people want to help. In the trade, especially online, so-called butterfly and bee feeding stations or drinks are therefore offered. The small pots and sponges can or should be treated and filled with sugar water to provide an additional source of food in the garden for butterflies and bees.
But what is well-intentioned can be detrimental to the bees and lead to fatal consequences, says wolf-dietrich schrober, chairman of the beekeepers' association in forchheim, who strongly advises against filling these feeding stations with sugar water. "It became an uncontrolled chaos. The bees go at it uncontrollably. But such places are the breeding ground for diseases that are carried home in such an uncontrolled way."
As a similar comparison, he mentions the not completely clean honey jars that end up in the old glass containers. They are also breeding grounds for diseases that are then introduced uncontrollably into the bee colony. Therefore, it is also important here to dispose of only clean glasers. Moreover, sugar water also attracts other animals. Ants, for example, love the sugar water.
If schrober advised against filling such well-intentioned feeding stations with sugar water, it does not mean that he rejects help for the bees. It is even desired, only in a different form. "Every flower helps, stresses schrober.
People could start in their own gardens or on the terraces by planting flowers and also placing them in cubes on the terrace. Those who do not have the opportunity, can help in other ways.
"We beekeepers offer the action bee islands, the federation nature conservation offers the flower strip. People who want to help should support these actions", suggests schrober. First and foremost, flowers were needed, especially now at this time of year. A look through french switzerland, however, shows that these flowers are missing.
This is one of the reasons why the agricultural sector is being called upon to support the reestablishment of so-called "wild fields" as in the past. The beekeepers then place their colonies where they find the food.
The fact that beekeepers also feed their bees with sugar water cannot be compared with the over-the-counter feeding stations. If the beekeeper feeds the bees with sugar water, he feeds the bees in the colony. With the sugar lottery, the beekeeper motivates the winter brood and, in addition, he must give back to the bees in food what he has taken from them with the extraction of the honey.
This was the bees' food to get them through the winter. Now he has to bring that back in so that the people survive.
People can help the bees with water. This is especially important for the bees in this heat. But not sugar water.
People can simply fill already bought feeding stations with clean water or put out a water bowl, because bees need water. They drink water and also need it to cool their dwellings.
Like the honey, they bring the water in the smallest quantity into the dwelling. When water evaporates it gets cold and so the beehive is also cooled. For coarser water bowls, a stone helps bees land and drink safely. The beekeeper is concerned about the correct handling of the replacement feed.