Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Gardeners Told to Give Exhausted Bees an Energy Drink

Posted by samzenpus on from the it's-what-bees-crave dept.

In an effort to help Britain's declining bee population, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is urging gardeners to leave out a homemade energy drink for tired bees. The RSPB says that a mix of two tablespoons of sugar with a tablespoon of water makes a perfect bee-boosting drink. Val Osborne, head of wildlife inquiries at the RSPB, said, "Many people keep seeing bees on the ground and assume they are dead, but chances are they are having a rest. Much like us, a sugary drink could boost their energy levels and a simple sugar and water combination will be a welcome treat."

7 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. Short Sighted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The bees will have trouble sleeping at night and by the end of the week they will be in a barely conscious stupor.

    Trust me.

  2. Look, I know a dead bee when I see one by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is an ex-bee!

  3. Those aren't honey bees, they're yellow jackets by swb · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yellow jackets are protein eaters (other bugs, roadkill). They don't make honey. In the late summer / early fall they lose their normal food sources and they start going after carbohydrates -- sugary soda and pretty much anything on the picnic table.

    They're also super aggressive at that time of year and can sting repeatedly. Which is why I hang a yellow jacket trap to kill as many as possible. 10 in the last day!

  4. Weird. by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    Many people keep seeing bees on the ground and assume they are dead, but chances are they are having a rest

    I don't see them on the ground but they seem to collect in my lawn mower's grass catcher.

    .

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  5. Traps are great by flaming+error · · Score: 5, Funny

    .. but if you prefer something more aggressive than passive, you can't beat tennis racket bug zappers. Keeps the kids off the xbox for hours.

  6. Re:Fix one thing, break another... by rve · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe! Certainly hummingbirds will like the sugar water as much as bees do.

    Not a problem in Britain

    Here's another trick that would probably work if you are only interested in attracting bees to your feeder: Paint it yellow. Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red, not so much to yellow.

    But yellow may attract a flock of song chavs or a legless tree asbo.

  7. Re:Colony Collapse Disorder by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 5, Informative

    A cure for "Colony Collapse Disorder" has recently been announced. It turns out (after an exhaustive study, in more ways that one), that there were a combination of microorganisms causing the problem. And it takes a mix of antibiotics to cure it, but it does work. The recovery has been pretty dramatic.