Honeybee waterer - Low-cost technology that improves the productive efficiency of the colonies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52945/rac.v35i2.1336Keywords:
Apis mellifera L., water collection, low-cost technologiesAbstract
Water is used by bees for their metabolism and other functions in the colony. In the absence of water sources, it is essential to provide bees with a water station. In this paper we present the construction of a waterer and the preliminary results of the evaluation of the visitation for water collection in a waterer installed in an apiary and another one in an orchard cultivated under anti-hail screens. The number of bees arriving at the waterer per minute and their visitation time was evaluated. The bees visited the waterer constantly, in both environments, even in weather conditions considered inappropriate for flight and foraging, which shows the need for water for the colony. The installation of water stations in the orchards may be an option to improve the permanence of the bees under the anti-hail screens and to preventing that when they leave in search of water they cannot return.
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Copyright (c) 2022 Tânia Patrícia Schafaschek, André Amarildo Sezerino
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
