Nectar flow this time of year ? (UK - Mids)

[boywonder]

A couple of weeks ago (start of March) I went to heft (and inspect fondant levels on) colonies in my main out-apiary. At the time, I was being vigilant only as the bees were becoming more active, beginning brood rearing (evidenced by copious pollen gathering) and also as I only had a couple of hundred grams of fondant left (at most) on each hive.

On hefting, it was clear to me that they had put on (significant) weight over the preceding week or two, however…. So I ended up leaving them well be, exiting stage left, and wondering where they could be getting fresh stores from at this time of year …. another beekeeper in the locality-open feeding syrup maybe ?? (not that there are any of whom I am aware, and really ?!)

Anyway… this lunchtime, 4 miles away, in my garden apiary, I did a very quick swap of a (very) busy 6-frame nuc into a full hive.

Not that I needed to, mind (it could have waited 2 or 3 weeks, maybe). It’s very early in the season, and the conditions were not ideal; however, this was an especially busy nuc, containing bees I know to be swarmy… and, for the sake of 2 minutes, to be honest, it was a chance, as I was moving the frames, to get “eyes-on” confirmation as to where they were in their colony development ….. A good benchmark, so to speak.

Well - blow me - it was also rammed with fresh nectar … to the extent you might even assume they had a “flow-on”.

So… in rural Leicestershire, with temps hovering around 10 degrees, and blackthorn/hawthorn still some way off coming into blossom … let alone any top-fruit, does anybody have any ideas as to what could be yielding such large amounts of liquid food ?

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Murox]

robbing out another hive in the locality - wild - abandoned - other beek, or have they stored all the fondant??

 

[Finman]

robbing out another hive in the locality - wild - abandoned - other beek, or have they stored all the fondant??

You are right. Only explanation is to rob weak or dead hive.

Honey flow needs 20C temperature that bees can get yield in spring. 10-12C is not enough for foraging. Full pollen foraging needs 16C temp.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

robbing out another hive in the locality - wild - abandoned - other beek, or have they stored all the fondant??

I've got one hive that's lost much more weight than the rest but none of the others are gaining. Suspicious of robbing.

 

[boywonder]

Thought as much; it just seems that all my hives (across two sites) are gaining. Not that I'm complaining too much - wherever it's coming from. Assuming large scale robbing, then I hope that's not going to cause me a disease issue. Anyhow, time will tell. Cheers.

 

[Robert Denny]

Do you have any commercial poly tunnels or greenhouses in your area?

 

[Murox]

Thought as much; it just seems that all my hives (across two sites) are gaining. Not that I'm complaining too much - wherever it's coming from. Assuming large scale robbing, then I hope that's not going to cause me a disease issue. Anyhow, time will tell. Cheers.

An increase on two sites is intriguing - how close together are they (getting stores from a singe source?) and how many colonies have "significantly" gained weight ? have any lost weight ? are you sure your hefting technique consistent ?

Just had a thought, are they older hives made of pine which may tend to absorb moisture during particularly wet rainy periods ?