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The last couple of weeks I have noticed the honey bees are really working my bog
pots. They aren't paying any attention to the plants, but are getting
"something" from the surface of the media. Some pots have moss, others don't.
I can't believe they are just after the moisture, they can get that from the
pond or nearby puddles (lots of rain recently). A pot I have been transplanting
lots of dews into (filiformis and intermedia) they leave alone. The only difference with that pot is I stripped all the old moss and other "stuff" off the top, mixed up the media, and
started putting in the dews, so the surface of the media is "new".
I thought maybe they were getting pollen or nectar from the moss, but they don't
concentrate on the moss, but work the bare media as well.
And yes, I am sure they are honey bees, they are from my hives.
Any ideas? ???
 
Honeybees will collect water under certain conditions. Has it been usually hot recently? They will collect water to use in evaprative cooling, sort of like honeybee swamp cooler to reduce temperatures inside the hive. Guessing the internal, Brood areas, temperatures of the hive are exceeding 90F.

I see them doing similar and it is easier from saturated media than in deep water....
 
I've seen wasps dig in very wet mud.

Maybe this is the same thing?

These were not the ones that make nests in or on the ground.
 
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I've seen wasps dig in very wet mud.

Maybe this is the same thing?

These were not the ones that make nests in or on the ground.

Vespid or Specid wasps (potter wasps or mud daubers) will collect mud to make nests to deposit caterpillars and other goodies in to feed to their larvae. But these wasps very easily distinguished from honey bees due to coloration and a long thin thread like waist.
 
It could be that the bees are simply collecting water. They might have found the bog pots as a source of water before I filled the "pond" and they just haven't discovered the closer source yet. They can be pretty stubborn.
 
Vespid or Specid wasps (potter wasps or mud daubers) will collect mud to make nests to deposit caterpillars and other goodies in to feed to their larvae. But these wasps very easily distinguished from honey bees due to coloration and a long thin thread like waist.

Thank you for explaining that. I always wondered why the wasps drink from the water garden barrels and the bees only from the bog soil and never out of the pond or barrels.

I have seen the wasps collect mud, and seen them steal what the sundews catch. They pull the flys or whatever away from the sundew leaves and cut them into a manageable size and carry them back to their nest, fascinating.
 
They are building little bunkers in which to hide from the insecticides & microwave towers....
at least until Dec. 21st, 2012, at which point it will be safe for them to come out.
For after that they will not have to worry about such things!

Excuse me now, I have to go make a foil hat! :-D
 
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