Pond Scum and Energy Bars

Half a whiskey barrel pond with a few plants, a solar fountain, and some mosquito fish makes an ideal water source for bees. If you already have a pond or pool in your yard for people to enjoy, a strategically placed whiskey barrel pond will keep the bees out of everybody’s way.

Stringy green algae (Claudophora spirogyra), otherwise known as pond scum — and not to be confused with the smooth jazz group Spyro Gyra  — grows into a bubbling floating carpet that bees can easily land on. That, combined with a forest of dwarf horsetail makes an irresistibly cool retreat on a hot day.

Bees snack on algae and stick their long, straw-like tongues through the algae to fill their tanks with nutrient-rich pond water. Then they climb up the reeds and fly back to the hive. Check out this video to see the action.

Spirolina, a distant cousin of spirogyra, is a blue-green bacteria (Arthrospira platensis) with a nutritional profile that is similar to pollen. This is the same stuff the Aztecs made into energy bars for their long distance runners, and is being investigated as a nutritional supplement for bees.

On the downside, green algae is invasive and if not controlled, clogs the fountain and depletes the water of oxygen, which kills the fish and transforms what remains into a breeding ground for mosquitos. The best time to prevent green algae from taking over is before it gets out of hand. You can see that it's nearly out of hand here, but the bees love it. 

A simple way to help keep the water clear is to put a generous handful of barley straw into a nylon stocking, along with a rock to weigh it down. Although barley straw alone might not prevent the water from turning brackish, but it will slow down the process. You can remove some of the algae, and leave enough for the bees to land on. And if it goes downhill, you can dump the water into your vegetable garden and start over.