Lots of pollen - and nectar too?

[davidharradine]

Like lots of others on here my bees are bringing in loads of pollen at the moment. I've noticed some posts and answers about whether we need to be feeding because of this late activity. But if there are flowers with pollen, won't the bees also be bringing in nectar - in which case why would we need to feed?

 

[Easy Beesy]

Just because a flower has pollen available doesn't mean it has nectar as well. Nectar production is kinda like good grape growing, it requires a combination of ambient temperature, warm & wet soil, available nutrients, that sort of thing. And even if there is nectar available, it is likely of a very weak sugar content. Many winter/spring plants produce good pollen eg willow catkins. some bees might be bringing back water to help them digest their concentrated honey stores though - those would be the foragers returning without pollen or propolis.
Eb

 

[oliver90owner]

in which case why would we need to feed?

Something to do with the amount of honey stored for over-wintering, I think.

 

[itma]

Like lots of others on here my bees are bringing in loads of pollen at the moment. I've noticed some posts and answers about whether we need to be feeding because of this late activity. But if there are flowers with pollen, won't the bees also be bringing in nectar - in which case why would we need to feed?

Pollen doesn't guarantee that nectar is coming in as well.
The bees are active - flying even. That means they are burning through the carbs (nectar, honey) at a higher rate than in a normal November to support that activity.

It depends on the balance between collection and consumption as to whether your hives are gaining or losing stores. Not possible to generalise, so you do need to either look, weigh or 'heft' to check what is happening in your hives. .

And the consensus of opinion on here seems to be that its better to err on the side of over rather than under feeding at this point, as late winter fondant feeding may not always be taken once the situation has become serious. Over-feeding isn't good, but the consequences are less serious than under-feeding!

/If I've not understood correctly, I'm sure I'll be corrected!

 

[davidharradine]

@oliver90owner Nothing like a bit of helpful sarcasm.

 

[psafloyd]

@oliver90owner Nothing like a bit of helpful sarcasm.

Sarcastic, perhaps, but apposite. You feed now not because you believe the bees are helping themselves, but because you know/fear if they stop tomorrow, they would be unlikely to make it.

From my limited experience, the basic equation is:

Healthy bees + sufficient stores = viable colony

If either parts of the left side are inverted, you get a different result. It's why I left well alone during much of the summer and why I put 2.5kg of fondants on one colony on Sunday.