Low Pollen Stores

[MuswellMetro]

i inspected 15 hives on Saturday and talked to a beekeeper who inspected a further 10, I inspected for stores mainly but finding no brood in the first hives then inspected all for brood as well

Well apart from little on no brood in any of the 25 hives possibley due to being at end of apiguard treatment , we also noticed that they had no pollen stores

We now have a little ivy and Michaelmas Daisy pollen coming in ( on the one of two hives with fresh eggs) but not a lot of pollen collection going on. In my Hive notes for this time last year it says "Wall to Wall" pollen

So what are the rest of your finding

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Another Londoner very light on pollen as well; gave them a patty as an experiment and they took it. But it's now coming in via some of the biggest, brightest "jodhpurs" I've seen all year so I think they have it under control. Can't work out these weather forecasts; some are forecasting the end of the world, others, perfect foraging weather.

 

[Fahey]

Inspected one of my hives yesterday (planning to put on a feeder) and there was no BIAS, stores or pollen in the BB, plenty of bees which was encouraging. Some of the super frames (about 5) were sealed. Added the feeder and I'll check again in a few days.
Do I add a pollen pattie this time as well?

 

[thorn]

The queen will not continue laying into the winter. For how long into the autumn should we expect to find BIAS? Surely she'll be slowing down by now.

 

[itma]

Remember Jeffree's 1955 Aberdeen study?

Summary
In 367 examinations of healthy honeybee colonies during each of the months September to March inclusive, conducted over 7 years, the quantities of brood present and the quantities of pollen in the combs were determined. The brood minimum occurred in October, when brood was present in only 14% of colonies, while throughout the period of wintering the quantity of pollen per colony averaged only 3 oz. In colonies which had been queenright, quantities of pollen stored in capped cells were negligible in comparison with quantities in open cells. It is suggested that bees may have come to winter practically without protein as a result of natural selection.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02225761


I've been wondering why we treat with Oxalic so late, like Christmas ...

 

[Tonyatcwfarm]

I noticed no slowdown in queens laying during apiguard treatment and am putting it down to a thymol feed I gave the colonies the week before application
My thinking is the lighter sent of thymol in the feed may have got the hive accustomed to the smell
Both of my colonies have continued growing under treatment

 

[sharonh]

I noticed no slowdown in queens laying during apiguard treatment and am putting it down to a thymol feed I gave the colonies the week before application
My thinking is the lighter sent of thymol in the feed may have got the hive accustomed to the smell
Both of my colonies have continued growing under treatment

Very same with mine, i fed mine with the thymol a week before also, so they must have got use to the smell, so didn't bother them.
They are only finishing the second treatment next Friday, but have not stopped drawing in the pollen.

 

[MuswellMetro]

sorry link did not work first of all


try this one

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02225761/lookinside/000.png


http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02225761/lookinside/001.png

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I noticed no slowdown in queens laying during apiguard treatment and am putting it down to a thymol feed I gave the colonies the week before application
My thinking is the lighter sent of thymol in the feed may have got the hive accustomed to the smell
Both of my colonies have continued growing under treatment

Identical experience. I put a pause in laying down to the Thymol but now think it was the weather and basically, my one tray (I did no second as I saw limited evidence of mites) had v little impact, based on brood timings. Will DEFINITELY "introduce" thymol by feed in future years (depending on exact circs.)

 

[drstitson]

if they're not rearing brood nurse bees aren't ageing.

so no need to worry or faff IMHO.

 

[alanf]

I get the impression there is less pollen stored than I recall last year, although I see it coming in. Ivy is now flowering and there's some bright orange/yellow pollen that might be Michaelmas daisy.

If I was guessing, the colder, wetter, duller turn of weather to the end of September and into October in 2012 might have shut down brood production earlier and pollen coming in at the time was stored. When the subject of broodless periods came up before this article was mentioned:

http://www.irishbeekeeping.ie/articles/supobs.html

it has references to N American and UK studies. What evidence does appear to be published is that, in the UK at least, broodless periods occur but the timing is not as predictable as in other climate areas.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

The queen will not continue laying into the winter. For how long into the autumn should we expect to find BIAS? Surely she'll be slowing down by now.

Well it'll depend on all sorts of things including the strain, right? Mine are Buckfasts, who allegedly "breed till they starve". My inclination is that, per drsitson, they'll be fine left to get on with it, but I'll not be feeding them pollen during winter in order not to compound that problem; rather, as foraging dries up, I'll be feeding syrup and forgetting concerns about filling the brood box so that generation becomes the winter bees. We'll see.

 

[Goran]

At my place also not lot pollen incoming, but maybe I don't see it cause it is under the honey.. Also this year here bees stopped earlier brood than last. Bit worry for me, but I believe they know what are they doing.. But I am not afraid of pollen stores we have pollen in all time bees can get out ( even short periods in winter/beginning of spring they get in abundance from hazels, cornel)..

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, lucky here too
Apiary and hedgerows groaning with willow,hazel and crocus.

 

[REDWOOD]

There will be little brood until next spring that is when they need pollen, if there is no early pollen available or too cold for bees to fly feed them pollen patties, feeding pollen this time of year could be more damaging.

 

[Walrus]

Mine are Buckfasts, who allegedly "breed till they starve".

I think you might be referring to Italians (Apis mellifera ligustica)

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I think you might be referring to Italians (Apis mellifera ligustica)

Exactly, Buckies were bred based largely on Italians based in part on their prolific nature (all this is based on the Dave Cushman site). They're the beginner's bee for various reasons including mildness which gosh mine certainly are.

 

[Roola]

Very low pollen stores here too, although a fair bit more Bias which is a bit of a relief... Ivy is out but not seeing huge amounts of pollen going in.

 

[Polyanwood]

I looked at 9 colonies on Saturday. They all had quite a lot of brood (but the brood nest was about half the size it was in midsummer.) What was interesting was that they had mostly sealed brood or eggs and hardly and unsealed brood at all. I thought that might be some beekeeper effect - at this time of year I visit them fortnightly to top up the big feeders. It looked like the queens had had a period of accelerated laying in response to feeding, and then nearly stopped again, only to start again very recently. Some colonies were bringing in a lot of what looked like Michaelmas daisy pollen and the frames next to the brood nest looked like they had been sprayed yellow.

The ivy is nearly ready - the flowers have unfurled and I can see the stamens.

 

[Walrus]

Exactly, Buckies were bred based largely on Italians based in part on their prolific nature (all this is based on the Dave Cushman site). They're the beginner's bee for various reasons including mildness which gosh mine certainly are.

Brother Adam will be after you for such blasphemy! He aimed to make a bee which had the traits he wanted, and raising brood until they starve was not one of them ;-)