Like all living things, bees need water to survive. Without clean water, your hive will quickly perish. When you are starting your hive and deciding the best location for it, you should think about the nearby water sources that are available for your bees. Make sure that there is fresh water nearby. If there isn’t, your bees will travel far to find it, and they might end up drinking dirty or polluted water.
Bees will travel up to five miles to find water. However, this does not mean that any hive within five miles of a water source is good to go! You should provide water for your bees that is much closer than five miles away. It is a good idea to keep a water source within one mile of the hive, and closer is always better!
If your worker bees have to regularly travel a long distance just to collect water, they will tire themselves out before they have collected much nectar. The harder bees work, the faster they die. By positioning a hive far away from water, you will shorten your worker bees’ life spans. They will also be forced to use time that could be used collecting nectar on fetching water. This will have a negative impact on honey production. By giving your bees easy access to water, you give your hive the chance to thrive.
All of that being said, sometimes you have no choice but to place your bees far away from a major water source. If you live in a residential area with no nearby bodies of water, put a container of water near your hive. Depending on the size of the container, you will need to regularly refill it. This way, you can ensure that your bees are supplied with fresh water at all times. This will prevent them from flying far away to find a drink.