Many people are unaware of how much bees need water to maintain their personal health and the health of the colony. Water consumption quenches their thirst, as it does for us, and also serves as a tool they use to regulate, along with air flow, the temperature in a hive. This is why watering holes for bees are as important as they are for birds. This little bee stops for water on her way back to the hive, sucking it up through her proboscis, the bee equivalent of a tongue.