Gardens of Suburbia : Forage month by month

[MuswellMetro]

Sadly, compared to much of the countryside in the South East, suburbia is indeed "Bee Heaven".
No great gluts of forage, but pretty much always something worthwhile.

Down here, raspberry and bramble are long past, however the bees are still working hard on the Fuchsia and some types of Lavender. Ignoring the purple Buddleia, leaving that to the butterflies.
A friend's garden had something I was told was a form of mint, flowering abundantly, and covered in honeybees (plus a few bumbles). Wonder what that is going to taste like!

The Ivy hasn't started yet

yes, hives in suburbia have collected sufficient stores but hives I help with near Beds /Herts boarder at Markyate have collected only a half a frame of Ragwort and the frames are stained yellow and smell awful

 

[Tom Jay]

Inspecting today I saw my first-of-the-season tell-tale white dusty pollen on the backs of bees been to H Balsam. Last year that was a huge haul around here, from the banks of the streams in the woods by the Tyne. Countryside Volunteers do their best to reduce it but no-where near eradication is possible. So meanwhile it is not entirely un-loved!

Meanwhile Snowberry just goes on and on. I cycled past a huge patch of it I guess one mile from my apiary and saw scores of what I think were my bees on it. [I'm the only guy round here with Caucasian].

 

[juanito]

Greetings,
we have bees taking pollen from false pepper trees and a few working our courgette patch,
its a lot cooler this morning so the queens should be laying again.

 

[Tom Jay]

First day of September was a bright day here in the North East UK. Out picking our soft fruit I saw an interesting thing: Everything but honeybees on the last flush of blackberry: bumbles, solitaries, hover - and amid the autumn raspberries it was nearly all honeybees on the flowers. They'd selected the better nectar? I guess the hanging raspberry flowers had not been washed by rain in the night as the sun seeking blackberry flowers had.

 

[Robbo8916]

Inspecting today I saw my first-of-the-season tell-tale white dusty pollen on the backs of bees been to H Balsam. Last year that was a huge haul around here, from the banks of the streams in the woods by the Tyne. Countryside Volunteers do their best to reduce it but no-where near eradication is possible. So meanwhile it is not entirely un-loved!

Meanwhile Snowberry just goes on and on. I cycled past a huge patch of it I guess one mile from my apiary and saw scores of what I think were my bees on it. [I'm the only guy round here with Caucasian].

There's tonnes of HB around here for miles and in huge amounts. I've noticed on my daily walks that the number of honey bees working it has reduced significantly over the last week or so. The bumbles and solitaries are still on it in huge numbers though.

The honeys must have found something better (who knows)?

 

[Tom Jay]

Wow what a forage day here in North East England!
Sedum is just beginning to turn pink but the honeybees have started on it today, 6th Sept. I'm gonna note how long their interest continues. Lots of it about in gardens around here. Ivy flower buds are building but a long way off opening for business.

 

[Tom Jay]

Borage! I had some growing in medium size pots earlier in the year and while the bees loved it the plants struggled as I had not realised the kind of space they need. So I planted a late crop, just a half-barrel full, and they are into flower now. The plants are looking excellent for all it's a late crop. There are just five plants, yet the bees are all over it all day. Next year for certain I will grow this with a succession of planting monthly beginning of May, June, July, August.

They are still of course on the Sedum, and also the Autumn Raspberry - those that aren't off to the HB! In these parts, Ivy is some way from opening yet.

 

[Tom Jay]

Honeybees on the Ivy began today. Ivy growing on old stone boundary walls around here, in plenty of sun, is hugely in bud, with just the beginnings of flower burst so far. It promises to be a huge haul, weather permitting.

 

[Tom Jay]

Mid October, a still, cloudy day. Huge companies out foraging from all hives. 25% coming home with pollen and it's mostly ivy. But there's a light lime green pollen too. The chart suggests field thistle but surely too late in the season? Any ideas what it might be in NE England October?

 

[linoleum bonypart]

It's amazing how much ivy is out there when you look!!

 

[Firefly]

It's amazing how much ivy is out there when you look!!

In the sunny weather last week they were fetching in gigantic loads. Even today - grey and dreary, 11C, 12mph east wind - they are still fetching it in smaller loads - as much as they can get before they freeze to death, I should think

 

[Tom Jay]

November!
All five hives hugely busy foraging 1st and 2nd November. I think it is uniquely Ivy. Meanwhile I have given them each about a litre of thick sugar syrup in the hope that the ivy nectar diluted with this will not set too hard for them in the comb. - Any thoughts on that?

 

[BrianO]

November!
All five hives hugely busy foraging 1st and 2nd November. I think it is uniquely Ivy. Meanwhile I have given them each about a litre of thick sugar syrup in the hope that the ivy nectar diluted with this will not set too hard for them in the comb. - Any thoughts on that?

Yes, let the Bees worry about that. They will know better.

 

[beeno]

Male holly flowers out here!

 

[Fatbee]

Mahonia - alive at the weekend and ignoring big amount of ivy next door

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Dark Green Pollen

A couple of days last week, I found bottle-green pollen on the landing board. The nearest my WDJ Kirk's Pollen Identification Cards came to it (for September) was Rosebay Willow Herb, although I am not aware of any near me but maybe the bees have found some.

Any thoughts that it could be that, in late October, or something else?

CVB

 

[Alabamaeee]

Tom Jay, just give them fondant if we have a very cold snap this winter. Normally the bees can break down ivy honey but if we have a protracted period of very cold weather then Fondant is the answer.

 

[Tom Jay]

Well here we go with 2016!
In this first week of February here in North East England we've had three days on which the bees were out and some of them foraging - straight out and into the distance, and jetting straight back home. Just a couple of hours of it early afternoons. I didn't get close to look for pollen, but loads of snowdrops are open around here, and plenty of the gorse bushes are in flower. I'm not aware of much else so I'm guessing those? Never did I expect to see bees foraging on 2nd February at 55 degrees north.

 

[thorn]

In Leeds there are flowering plums in bloom, and they're on them. The croci are out, too.
The hives in my country apiary seem to be maintaining and even putting on weight. I don't have a clue what they're finding out there.

 

[Tom Jay]

A couple of hours of quite busy foraging today here. Most were coming home with nectar but I saw three different pollens: definitely snowdrop, then one which could have been crocus or else willow? There was also a pure white pollen. What might that be in mid February?

As to trees around here the Hazel catkins are everywhere, and wild cherry, single flower ornamental cherry, and blackthorn are in their early stages of blossom.