Dying Bees On The Floor

I get asked so many things about struggling bees on the pavement, more often than not it's bumbles we see but it can be other bees as well. First of all, not all bees on the ground are thirsty or tired, it can also be age-related so don't be sad if you can't save the bee (I know it’s hit a few of you in the feels), secondly, there's no real way of telling if it's tired or thirsty. What can you do to help, you can mix sugar and water at a 2:1 ratio, 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, you should only ever mix up a very small amount for the bee in question. People have taken it upon themselves to put out large quantities of sugar water on the basis that if it's good for one bee it's good for all, unfortunately, that's not the case at all. Sugar water is a substitute for nectar, nectar contains a whole heap of good stuff for the bees, sugar water doesn’t contain nutritional value to them, but that sweet smell will attract all manner of bees. Honeybees taking sugar water back to their colony is not good for beekeepers as sugar water creates artificial honey, we have no way of telling whether this is happening and is not something we want happening

So another conclusion people have come to is if bees make honey and it is so good why not feed them honey… honey can contain harmful pathogens to bumblebees and honeybees, and that's why beekeepers never feed their bees honey.

Really and truly the best possible thing that can be done is finding a flower and gently popping the bee on it so it can restore its energy with nectar, picking up bees isn’t for everyone but its the most natural way for it to recover, sugar water is a quick easy fix if you have it to hand but please be mindful of how much you are putting out.