Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: why do they do that  (Read 4069 times)

Offline Archie

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 106
  • Gender: Male
why do they do that
« on: July 26, 2004, 09:27:13 pm »
Out on my deck there is an  open bag of potting soil.  The exposed soil was covered with bees.  The potted plants had bees on the soil also.  What are they looking for and what are the getting out of the potting soil?
Honey, Vermont sunshine in a bottle.

Offline Kris^

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 560
why do they do that
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2004, 10:34:04 pm »
In a similar vein, we had several dozen trays of perennial plugs sitting out on pallets earlier this summer.  I noticed that the bees just seemed to flock to the hostas in particular, poking through the teeny-tiny leaves, even though there was no way they would ever find nectar in them.  We thought it might be the soil the plants were were rooted in that attracted the bees.  It made for an interesting time when we went to transplant the plugs into their containers!  Nobody got stung, though.

-- Kris

Offline Agility Mom

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 160
why do they do that
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2004, 09:37:34 am »
We had a similar type experience last summer although not involving plants and soil. My husband had gotten bark mulch in our pickup and there were those pieces that you can't easily get out remaining on the bed of the truck. Every time the truck was in the yard, the bees came in numbers to light on that remaining mulch. One thought I had for my situation was tht it was an easy way to get water or perhaps what they need for propolis. Can't think what they were looking for in your potting soil.
Judy

Offline lobstafari

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 71
why do they do that
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2004, 06:55:38 pm »
I have also noticed bees love seaweed, and also, buzz around my boat when Im fishing close to shore.  There are known beekeepers in the area, but still, why my boat?  And whats the attraction to the seaweed?  It is known to be high in micronutrients and geat for gardens, so maybe they're after minerals or salt or something who knows.

Offline Robo

  • Technical
  • Administrator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 6778
  • Gender: Male
  • Beekeep On!
    • Bushkill Bee Vac
why do they do that
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2004, 11:14:37 pm »
Jeremy,

I think your on to something.  I noticed when I use to provide a water source for my bees, it seemed to be much more attracting to them if I added some Clorox.  

Kept the algae down too :lol:
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison