How to help a tired bee

Afternoon bees! Did you have a good weekend? We’ve been pretty BEEsy working on our Save The Bees campaign (more info here) and have begun to notice the drop in temperatures – our early mornings are certainly crisper now!

As summer draws to a close, you may stumble across a tired, sleepy or (apparently) dying bee – but not to fear as you can help revive it! Just follow our “thirst aid” remedy to give the bee the energy boost it needs to get back to its hive.

Why are bees so tired and sleepy at this time of year?

As Autumn comes, there will be less flowers meaning bees are flying further to collect the nectar and pollen they need. Also, the bees that are out and about are probably a little older than in the summer months as as the queen will be laying less eggs now. So, as these older bees make longer trips, they can run out of energy and also become a bit dehydrated. This is why you sometimes see them tired and crawling along the floor instead of buzzing around!

Can I really help save a tired bee?

Yes! In fact, our “thirst aid” remedy is so simple that we wish more people knew about it! It’s easy to carry out and there’s no need to worry about the bee attacking you. Likelihood is that the tired bee is too sleepy/weak to fly, let alone to sting. Also, they will know you are helping them 🙂

So what is Just Bee’s “Thirst Aid” Remedy?

Put simply, it’s homemade sugar syrup. By feeding this to your tired bee, you’ll help re-hydrate it and replenish its energy to give it the boost it needs to take flight and return to the hive.

We’re here to run you through step-by-step to ensure maximum success!

1. Gently bring your tired bee to a safe, dry place (using a piece of paper/card).
2. Make your bee sugar syrup by mixing normal granulated white sugar and water. We suggest a 2:1 ratio (approx. 2 tablespoons of sugar to 1 tablespoon of water). You want the mixture to be pretty thick; otherwise your bee could drown! NB – don’t be tempted to use honey as bees are only used to honey from their own hives, other honey could contain bacteria the bee isn’t used to.
3. Put a small amount of sugar syrup on a plate or a spoon and place the bee next to it (not in it!). Make sure to open a window and ideally turn down any bright lights.

Hopefully, within a few minutes your tired bee will make it’s way to the sugar syrup to feed. It will LOVE this! As soon as your bee has revived it’s energy stores, it should take flight out of the window! If your bee get’s stuck in/on the syrup then you can always give it a hand to get back out using a piece of paper/card.

Yes, it’s that simple bees – you’re job is done! Apparently, stumbling across tired bees is a particular problem in big cities, as flowers are fewer and further between. Luckily, you can do something to help them out! We love being able to do our part to help the bee population and hope you can too. Feel free to email buzz@justbeehoney.co.uk or tag us on our socials if you happen to give our “thirst aid” remedy a try. We’d love to know how you get on!

Have a BEEutiful week bees!

Blogger Bee x