Apiaries in orchards

[the naked beekeeper]

I am asking a few questions at the moment as I am in search of better apiaries, for both, me and the bees.

So experienced beeks, do orchards provide decent nectar flows, even if private and relatively small.....or is having bees in an orchard a sort of romanticised dream. Purely aesthetic and of negligible use to the bees (florally speaking) except in terms of practicality as a site?....a factor upon which all potential sites should be judged....and is therefore no better than a site similarly practical...regardless of how far away from the orchard.

 

[Poly Hive]

Depends on what orchard. Apples do provide a small amount of surplus but it is very fickle hence Bee Farmers charging pollination fees.

Would I want an orchard apiary, I think not due to spraying and other activities which may disturb the bees.

Better to find a field site with all the amenities and preferably near to at least one village. Best of both worlds, isolated bees and forage in the gardens.

PH

 

[chrismcd]

In the 70's I remember watching an Apple farmer and a beekeeper arguing about the fact that his bees, just placed in the orchard on a pollination contract, were flying straight through the orchard to work oilseed rape at the other end of the orchard.

That must have been one of the earliest rape crops in the country, but it did show that bees much prefer rape to apples!

Given that bees will happily work for miles around, can I suggest that you give a greater priority to other aspects of apiary location - like security, microclimate and convenience

 

[gavin]

Mixed orchards which are not intensively managed for fruit are just about the best possible place for bees. Cherries, plums and gages, apples pears give your bees nearby pollen and nectar for three months in the cool spring when they can be reluctant to fly far. And perhaps dandelions and probably clover on the floor. Then it warms up a little and they fly further to the main summer crops. Can't be bettered - and the owners usually welcome bees for obvious reasons.

 

[hailtryfan]

In the 70's I remember watching an Apple farmer and a beekeeper arguing about the fact that his bees, just placed in the orchard on a pollination contract, were flying straight through the orchard to work oilseed rape at the other end of the orchard.

Apparently apple blossom nectar has quite low sugar content while OSR is very high sugar content. Bees will usually feed preferably at the nectar source that will require the least amount of evaporation to process it into honey.

 

[Queens59]

I was in an orchard last year - within reach of a town full of gardens, and also allotments...bees almost starved 3 times - if we hadn't kept an eye and fed regularly I would have lost the lot...instead I lost 3 queens. They blamed her for the lack of forage!! Not again this year...sorry

 

[For want of a better word]

TNBK.... possibly romantic !

But the possible misconception from the orchard keepers view is that the trees need bees for pollination... and therefore will accept your offer of pollinating bees with open arms... and a free and accessible apiary site for the beekeeperer!!

Possibly not a huge nectar flow from apples, but our cherries, plumbs, pears and apricots were full of bees last year, and all my neighbours complained about the huge harvest of apples they had to deal with !