Lowest temp?

[TooBee...]

What's the lowest temp. that bees can (successfully) forage at? Forget about the rain and wet, which tends to increase as the average daily temp. decreases in the British Isles.

I've read the books... but I've also read beekeepers claim that their bees can forage at 5.5c , mmmm, I'm thinking just because a beekeeper sees bees flying out at 5.5c does it mean that they are successful and are able to return to the hive with nectar?

 

[Beefriendly]

What's the lowest temp. that bees can (successfully) forage at?

It's not what temperature they can fly at...it's what's the lowest temperature that flowers produce nectar.

 

[TooBee...]

It's not what temperature they can fly at...it's what's the lowest temperature that flowers produce nectar.

I didn't know that, I naively assumed flowers produced nectar whenever their sap was rising, i.e: when they were growing, and it had no bearing on daylight nor temps.

So what temp. do flowers need to produce nectar at?

 

[Eyeman]

I didn't know that, I naively assumed flowers produced nectar whenever their sap was rising, i.e: when they were growing, and it had no bearing on daylight nor temps.

So what temp. do flowers need to produce nectar at?

Bees forage for things other than nectar, such as water.

 

[Beefriendly]

So what temp. do flowers need to produce nectar at?

Depends on the type of flower. Hawthorne needs around 16/18C and usually the earliest time the flowers have nectar is around mid-day. Whereas Buckwheat only has nectar in the morning.
As Eyeman says they do forage for water as well, which is available 24/7. Seeley published an article (ABJ and BBKA magazine) about some bees in Scotland that were flying a short distance and taking in water at 4C in winter. They didn't hang around and were constantly "shivering" to maintain body temperature...

 

[TooBee...]

Seeley published an article (ABJ and BBKA magazine) about some bees in Scotland that were flying a short distance and taking in water at 4C in winter. They didn't hang around and were constantly "shivering" to maintain body temperature...

You wouldn't have any more info. on that article for me to try and get hold of it?

What I really should have originally asked was, what's the lowest temp. that flowers can produce nectar and that bees can forage at (they can 'forage' at 4c, but that's at a Very Short distance, so in practice they cannot forage for nectar).

 

[Beefriendly]

Try back issues of the BBKA magazine, don't have an exact date, but sometime this year or late last year.
Snowdrops and flowering winter shrubs are possibly the plants that produce nectar at the lowest temperatures. but as to what the minimum temp they produce nectar is....I've no idea.

 

[TooBee...]

Thanks, that's hopefully all I need.