I haven’t fed yet.

[Swarm]

Well, so you are really only quoting Jenkins sentiments then.

I think you will find it was 'Jenkins' who agreed with Dani?

 

[Swarm]

I feed sometime after ivy is available, how much I feed depends on how much they bring in by themselves. Last year I left one colony on dummied double to its own devices and fed nothing, they were the strongest colony in Spring. Usually feeding means topping them up with a drop of invert.

 

[user 819]

A couple of my colonies have only about 14lbs of stores at the mo so next week they will get a little wet feed or fondant, ivy isn't open here yet but is in full bud. Temp day range is for next 7 days 20 - 26c so hoping ivy will start to flow.

 

[Swarm]

Plenty of pollen today, with forecasted temps I'm expecting to see it piling in.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Plenty of pollen today, with forecasted temps I'm expecting to see it piling in.

Ivy pollen AND drones spotted yesterday
Aren’t they just so noisy!

 

[Goodwood]

just feeding the colonies that are light at the mo to tide them over to the ivy.
Here they put on loads of weight with the ivy - "nailed down" heavy.
Without ivy I'd give up.

 

[beeno]

I think you will find it was 'Jenkins' who agreed with Dani?

I am talking about this statement in general as it comes up every year. Let's face it if he agreed, originally it must have been his statement!

 

[beeno]

I feed sometime after ivy is available, how much I feed depends on how much they bring in by themselves. Last year I left one colony on dummied double to its own devices and fed nothing, they were the strongest colony in Spring. Usually feeding means topping them up with a drop of invert.

All my colonies overwintered on just ivy one year. Never again, all colonies came out much weaker than usual and one took a long time to catch up. Not of statistical significance, but I am not about to try again. It makes logical sense to me as you are asking the bees to work harder..

 

[Swarm]

I'm not asking them to work harder, they are doing what they want to do.
I marvel at the wonder of Nature on a daily basis, bees have evolved alongside these plants and somehow I can't see that a bountiful feast, laid out just before the onset of Winter would be inedible. My bees love it. To be honest, the reason I give them some invert is to get a bit of thymol into them.
A friend of mine never feeds, has his reasons, never has struggling colonies.

 

[Swarm]

I am talking about this statement in general as it comes up every year. Let's face it if he agreed, originally it must have been his statement!

Many subjects come up annually. That bees and ivy have coexisted for millennia can't be attributed to JBM, I think it's been a well known fact long before he was twinkle in his father's eye.

 

[beeno]

Many subjects come up annually. That bees and ivy have coexisted for millennia can't be attributed to JBM, I think it's been a well known fact long before he was twinkle in his father's eye.

It is the context in which is being used in relation to ivy. Ivy crystallises so the bees have to work harder. In addition it can ferment in the hive which will kill the bees. I would not rely on just ivy for winter stores for those two reasons.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It is the context in which is being used in relation to ivy. Ivy crystallises so the bees have to work harder. In addition it can ferment in the hive which will kill the bees. I would not rely on just ivy for winter stores for those two reasons.

Not often I hear such rubbish spoken in one sentence.
Do you have any hard facts to support this outlandish theory?

 

[Fritillary]

Ivy pollen AND drones spotted yesterday
Aren’t they just so noisy!

(Glad you've been seeing drones. Only a few here I think and my biggest and best colony has just decided to supersede... leaving it a bit late!? Hope they don't dispatch their still laying queen for the moment.)

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not often I hear such rubbish spoken in one sentence.
Do you have any hard facts to support this outlandish theory?

I think any uncapped honey might ferment in a hive but only if there aren’t many bees in there to eat it before it does. Maybe that’s what Beeno means?
I’ve never had any honey ferment in mine.
This is what all my colonies look like this autumn

 

[Swn58]

Many of my colonies have super frames that are too small to harvest. I don't usually leave them in, as there are too few generally, at this time of the year. However it seems different this season. I could well be lifting a few late full frames in October at this rate. I haven't treated for varroa yet and will most likely leave it for another month, as I know any frames of honey left will be tainted. I use Apilife-Var.

 

[Curly green finger's]

W

Many of my colonies have super frames that are too small to harvest. I don't usually leave them in, as there are too few generally, at this time of the year. However it seems different this season. I could well be lifting a few late full frames in October at this rate. I haven't treated for varroa yet and will most likely leave it for another month, as I know any frames of honey left will be tainted. I use Apilife-Var.

Won't it be to late then to treat with apilife var.

 

[Swarm]

I think any uncapped honey might ferment in a hive but only if there aren’t many bees in there to eat it before it does. Maybe that’s what Beeno means?
I’ve never had any honey ferment in mine.
This is what all my colonies look like this autumn View attachment 22066

Nice booming colony there.
I think it's beekeepers who have the hard time with ivy.

 

[Ian123]

Many of my colonies have super frames that are too small to harvest. I don't usually leave them in, as there are too few generally, at this time of the year. However it seems different this season. I could well be lifting a few late full frames in October at this rate. I haven't treated for varroa yet and will most likely leave it for another month, as I know any frames of honey left will be tainted. I use Apilife-Var.

As above it’s likely to be to late for thymol based products and late to protect those late reared bees that take you into spring. If you want an ivy crop treat as soon as you can get the summer crop off allowing treatment period before the ivy flowers