# Bees eating soil?



## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

water, rosins for propolis


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

probably traces of salt


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

Several weeks ago i had top soil in a planter sitting out on the deck and i took notice that the bees was really liking the top soil. They was head first with their back legs up in the air! hahaha


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## jdg1938 (May 16, 2010)

I had new shingles delivered a week ago and saw around a dozen bees on the ends of the shingles that were exposed, maybe the heat but it was not cool out. We also have seen them working the top soil in the starts for the garden.


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## Andrew M (Mar 4, 2011)

I've read that bees sometimes feed on the sugary cytoplasm of fungus mycelium. Nice rich topsoil would have a lot of active soil fungus.


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## Mud Songs (Sep 30, 2010)

I wrote a post with a video and photo about this yesterday.

http://mudsongs.org/honey-bees-drinking-dirty-water/

One theory is that the moisture in the soil is warm and the bees are able to take up warm water faster than cold water. Biochemically, that kind of makes sense. But my bees have other cleaner sources of warm water that they totally ignore. There has to be something in the soil that's attracting the bees.


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## hilreal (Aug 16, 2005)

Every spring I see them in the mulch sucking up moisture and whatever. I also have a child's pool folded up with all kinds of decaying leaves, dirt, etc. pooled in it and they have been foraging in it since it was warm enough to fly.


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