Flow on?

[idg]

I am into my 4th year of beekeeping but have never really understood the following. People often say they "have a flow on" or "there is a major flow on" but how does the beekeeper know?
Is he spotting something from the hive entrance?
Is he seeing the cells fill up during inspections etc?

Sorry if it's a stupid question but I've always worked on the premise that the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.

 

[REDWOOD]

Heavy supers, loud hum from hive at dusk, nectar in brood frames, white bees, i'm sure there are more indications

 

[Erichalfbee]

Good weather and lots of stuff in bloom..........the stuff of dreams at the moment

 

[Tremyfro]

I wondered about this too...until one day as I walked towards the hives I could hear the bees. The air was full of bees going in and out of the hives and that evening you could hear them in the hives.....people have described as sounding like an air conditioner....and that was just what it was like.
Standing nearby you could almost feel the vibrations of thousands of wings beating to dry out the nectar.

 

[enrico]

They are in and out at top speed, hundreds of them, squat down near the hive and watch which they are flying, a cloud as background helps, all in one direction, like a motorway across the skies. You have a flow!
E

 

[Plenty of honey]

All the above and i would say the presence of fresh white wax being hurriedly built. Bees very occupied, wet front landing board of an evening as bees hurriedly try to dry honey and subsequently warm wet air condensates out a little of the front landing strip.
The loud constant hum if its a quite!
If its chestnut you can smell it and its a lovely stinky smell too!!

 

[Plenty of honey]

Good weather and lots of stuff in bloom..........the stuff of dreams at the moment

indeed!!!!

 

[Chris B]

Bees are focussed.
When a flow is on, if you remove heavy supers during an inspection and place them near or against the hive while you inspect, you will often find the supers beeless when you reassemble the hive. All the bees have walked back into the hive entrance with no interest in robbing or defending. Different story when no flow is on - more than likely a robbing frenzy will ensue.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ok ok stop!
It's snowing outside!

 

[pargyle]

Ok ok stop!
It's snowing outside!

Yeh ... Hailstones the size of small peas down here !!

 

[Poly Hive]

The obvious sign from the outside is the foragers returning bum down at top speed landing and running in.

PH

 

[BeeJayBee]

Yeh ... Hailstones the size of small peas down here !!

And still no sign of flowering currant.

 

[Swarm]

Ribes is in flower here and has been for a while. Another wives tale to dismiss.

 

[YorkshireBees]

OSR starting to flower in nearby fields, BB filling up with fresh nectar / white wax capped honey and bees overflowing the BB when you remove the crownboard!

And that was yesterday!!