clover

[SteveG]

Local farmer has asked if I'm interested to place hives on the clover - Will the bees use??
thanks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

definitely

 

[Erichalfbee]

Local farmer has asked if I'm interested to place hives on the clover - Will the bees use??
thanks




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Wow!

 

[lindsay s]

If the weather is good it’s our main crop in a lot of areas up here. If it’s cut down early for silage it can sometimes flower as good a second time. Last year we had a prolonged spell of poor weather at peak clover time and it was disappointing to watch it turn brown with out the bees getting any benefit from it. One of our members did a pollen survey and she said the pollen changes colour as the flowers get older.

 

[Murox]

Woh Hoh you lucky keeper. The clover around me tends to get cut before they have a chance to get at it. Though like Lindsay s on Orkney there is sometimes a second flush.

 

[Michael Palmer]

Locate the bees there post haste...

 

[rook66]

Local farmer has asked if I'm interested to place hives on the clover - Will the bees use??
thanks




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We

Local farmer has asked if I'm interested to place hives on the clover - Will the bees use??
thanks




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The one stop shop for the bees, one flower can have as many as 100 florets.

 

[enrico]

My clover isn't being touched. The bees are on something else. Don't know what but I know which direction it is so might have to go for a walk today!

 

[The Poot]

Go for it, clover honey is lovely in my opinion.
A field closest to my colonies, had slurry dumped on it yesterday - it had a good amount of clover prior to that.

 

[Amari]

Local farmer has asked if I'm interested to place hives on the clover - Will the bees use??
thanks
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I hope it's within reach of my bees too!

My clover isn't being touched. The bees are on something else. Don't know what but I know which direction it is so might have to go for a walk today!

Yes, I rarely see bees on the white clover in my apiary field (a plant nursery abandoned 15 years ago). Likely to be 'wild' rather than sown clover.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I hope it's within reach of my bees too!



Yes, I rarely see bees on the white clover in my apiary field (a plant nursery abandoned 15 years ago). Likely to be 'wild' rather than sown clover.

The wild clover is generally smaller so maybe better acssess to the florets and nectar I've seen them on the wild clover but not the sown.
I think this rain and humidity will play a good part to our coming summer flows.
I've got colonys eating there stores but these are at altitude.

 

[lindsay s]

The earliest white clover to flower here tends to be the wild stuff on the road verges and the unworked pasture. A lot more farmers are sewing a grass and clover mix as a nitrogen fix for the soil. I have heard people say the same as Curly that some of the commercial clovers aren’t as attractive for the bees but mine work the varieties that are sown here.
I was speaking to a man in his eighties a few weeks ago and he told me that his grandfather ran 15 hives here in the nineteen forties and he thought there was a lot more wild clover at that time. Finally some people comment that my bees should do well on the abundance of red clover here but unfortunately I have to explain that only the bumbles can work it.

 

[Amari]

The earliest white clover to flower here tends to be the wild stuff on the road verges and the unworked pasture. A lot more farmers are sewing a grass and clover mix as a nitrogen fix for the soil. I have heard people say the same as Curly that some of the commercial clovers aren’t as attractive for the bees but mine work the varieties that are sown here.
I was speaking to a man in his eighties a few weeks ago and he told me that his grandfather ran 15 hives here in the nineteen forties and he thought there was a lot more wild clover at that time. Finally some people comment that my bees should do well on the abundance of red clover here but unfortunately I have to explain that only the bumbles can work it.

I hope you're going to get a good crop this year. We're holidaying in Shetland this year (done Orkney - lovely!). Are there beekeepers there?

 

[lindsay s]

There’s one in Lerwick who has regular contact with our association. I’m not sure about the others but I think the number is quite low. Shetlands bees are still varroa free but given their climate they have a much tougher time than our bees. At moment the weather here has been fair so the next month is make or break time.
I have spoken to a few experienced beekeepers in the last few days and all of us should be doing splits but there’s hardly a Queen Cell in sight! Only one swarm that we know about so far this year.

 

[Finman]

I found today this fine white clover field on road side. It was perhaps 3 hectars.

I wondered if I would bring a beehive to this field. I went to look, are there already how much bees there. I evaluate that one bumbble bee per square metre. It makes 30000 bumbble bees on whole field. It is like all foragers of very good bee hive. No need to add bees to this pasture.

 

[Curly green finger's]

View attachment 26908

I found today this fine white clover field on road side. It was perhaps 3 hectars.

I wondered if I would bring a beehive to this field. I went to look, are there already how much bees there. I evaluate that one bumbble bee per square metre. It makes 30000 bumbble bees on whole field. It is like all foragers of very good bee hive. No need to add bees to this pasture.

.

We have fields of vetch and no honey bees on it but plenty of bubbles I'll get a photo tomorrow.
Lovely photo by the way.
To talk of different things have you had bees on heather?
And your thoughts if it's being foraged on is it any good.
If they are local to it will they not work it, field beans to name but a few.
Maybe drop a nuc in there and see what happens.

 

[Finman]

9

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To talk of different things have you had bees on heather?
And your thoughts if it's being foraged on is it any good.

I got last time from heather 1973. It was 50 kg per hive. Hard job to extract. Heather honey comes only from wet swagnum bogs, and during decades the are dried up.

We have lots of heather on dry hills like on sand and granite cliff soils, but they give nothing.

 

[Amari]

There’s one in Lerwick who has regular contact with our association. I’m not sure about the others but I think the number is quite low. Shetlands bees are still varroa free but given their climate they have a much tougher time than our bees. At moment the weather here has been fair so the next month is make or break time.
I have spoken to a few experienced beekeepers in the last few days and all of us should be doing splits but there’s hardly a Queen Cell in sight! Only one swarm that we know about so far this year.

From my preliminary reading it seems that the Shetland flora is quite limited, both in variety and quantity.

 

[Amari]

9
I got last time from heather 1973. It was 50 kg per hive. Hard job to extract. Heather honey comes only from wet swagnum bogs, and during decades the are dried up.
We have lots of heather on dry hills like on sand and granite cliff soils, but they give nothing.

My local heather (both bell and ling) is on the sandy heaths of the east coast of England - a low rainfall area. There's no point taking hives if there's been a summer drought.

 

[Finman]

My local heather (both bell and ling) is on the sandy heaths of the east coast of England - a low rainfall area. There's no point taking hives if there's been a summer drought.

In Finland all heathers are Calluna vulgaris.