Post Az1yJom9bvsNByZOEq by guigsy@mstdn.social
 (DIR) More posts by guigsy@mstdn.social
 (DIR) Post #AY8UHwOdWUwmFwti5I by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2023-07-27T23:24:30Z
       
       0 likes, 4 repeats
       
       Over on tiktok user @nomadicpancakes has observed a group of #bees that have learned to turn on the sensor on a water bottle filling station by walking over the target. This is just the kind of thing bees are made to learn, they love targets and need to follow them when dealing with flowers all the time. The interesting thing is that the bee who hits the target produces water for her sisters, herself less so. But these #eusocial girls seem to have that worked out!https://www.tiktok.com/@nomadicpancakes/video/7255331484444314926
       
 (DIR) Post #AY8UHxTzU4p9cqPV4K by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2023-07-27T23:51:10Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Bee dehydration is a serious problem. Why not design a water feeder just for the bees?Some of the design challenges:-standing water causes mosquitos-bees can drown in water that's even a cm deep, ideally the feeder should reproduce dew drop like conditions-if too many other things trigger the feeder it will waste water or be emptyIt could be as simple as a runway that the bee lands on, then after walking through a tunnel there are a few drops of water to drink.
       
 (DIR) Post #AY8UHyMwBmmCNG7NiK by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
       2023-07-28T00:11:13Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird A friend of mine in Santa Fe has a bowl of marbles and rocks, filled with water. Hundreds of tiny shorelines to land on.
       
 (DIR) Post #Az1DLFiCFipRB2tuvA by weaselx86@mastodon.social
       2023-07-28T04:41:35Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @futurebird
       
 (DIR) Post #Az1Juo2lCR55W0r83E by joannaholman@aus.social
       2025-10-09T03:38:40Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird similarly, there’s been a recent discovery of cockatoo birds that have learned how to turn the taps on drinking fountainshttps://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-06-04/sydney-sulphur-crested-cockatoo-using-bubblers/105365658
       
 (DIR) Post #Az1Qif5bMfCHwsLDCi by acsawdey@fosstodon.org
       2025-10-09T04:54:57Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird I once built a water dispenser for dogs and cats (winter dehydration of feral or “neighborhood” dogs in northern MN is a real issue) that worked with capacitive touch sensing—like phone screens but using a metal bowl as the sensing element. But it seems to me that designing a water station for bees might be even easier if they will just walk through a tunnel!
       
 (DIR) Post #Az1yJom9bvsNByZOEq by guigsy@mstdn.social
       2025-10-09T11:11:18Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @futurebird It's cool. But I'm unconvinced it's deliberate. Alternative narrative is they are coming for the abundant water. And then they keep investigating the potential nest hole.
       
 (DIR) Post #Az2MMJUInDaxvHwUm8 by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-10-09T15:40:46Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @otterX  they can be moody.