November activity 😳

[Beth]

The temperature has reached 10C today so I expected to see a little bit of activity. Incredibly one of the hives is going like a fair! Plenty of bees hovering about the front facing the hive so I presume these are new bees, but what on earth are the rest of them doing? They seem to be flying away but there is surely nothing blooming here now.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

dumping their guts probably

 

[Vanterrier]

I saw similar this morning and despite thinking the Ivy was finished there were loads of bees carrying Ivy pollen. The only other thing I can see around here is Gorse.
It's raining again now though...
K

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

only other thing I can see around here is Gorse.

gorse pollen is yellow

 

[Vanterrier]

I didn't actually see any Gorse pollen, just a nice orangey Ivy...
Are there regional variations of Gorse?

K

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I didn't actually see any Gorse pollen, just a nice orangey Ivy...
Is there regional variations of Gorse?
View attachment 38184

K

I hope that whoever made up that chart is not an electrician (especially if they have flowering currents in the garden) - has obviously never passed an Ishihara test

 

[Swarm]

Charts are never 100% reliable but Gorse is more of a sandy brown colour.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Charts are never 100% reliable but Gorse is more of a sandy brown colour.

I agree , i always thought of it as orangey brown , still ivy pollen being foraged on here , it could also be the later flowering ivy with big leaves .

 

[Vanterrier]

Searching on line I can see a bit of variation in the colour of Gorse pollen but of course the true colour may differ again on different devices.
Maybe the orange Ivy pollen I saw was orangey brown Gorse pollen?
Anyway, they were bringing in lots of it

K

 

[Swarm]

Ivy is usually large loads like yellow wagon wheels.
This is Gorse pollen

 

[madasafish]

Mine were out collecting ivy pollen
(unusual: usually far too cold at this time of year)

 

[The Poot]

There’s still some ivy going in here too. Wasps are still about. I look forward for the first frosts!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Maybe the orange Ivy pollen I saw was orangey brown Gorse pollen?

Sandy orangey brown

 

[Vanterrier]

I'm just amazed and a bit disappointed at the difference between the on line pollen colour guides. Glad I didn't pay for any of them.
Maybe it would have been better to be colour blind so that they were all brown... or green or whatever?
K

 

[pargyle]

I'm just amazed and a bit disappointed at the difference between the on line pollen colour guides. Glad I didn't pay for any of them.
Maybe it would have been better to be colour blind so that they were all brown... or green or whatever?
K

It's really difficult - on line colours are near impossible to match because of the differences of what type of screen, graphics card if it's a computer or device it is viewed on.. the online pollen charts are just a guide.

Colour charts, in the days when they were printed, were equally problematical as printed colours are made up tiny dots of the primary colours that fool the human eye into merging them into something that approximates to the actual colour and even then - it depended upon whose human eye is looking at it.

My company was contracted to respray the doors and window frames of a well known bank and I went to the initial ste meeting. I asked the Clerk of Works what colour he wanted it sprayed and he said ' the same colour as it is now' ... what brown ? Said I ... 'No he said - Black like they are now'.

I took out my True colour swatches (not printed - actual paint samples) and held up the brown colour swatch to the frames to show a colour match and he said ' Yes - black like that' .. I turned the swatch over where it said 'BS08B29 - Vandyke Brown' and said 'Right Vandyke black it is then'. We sprayed it brown and it looked no different to what was on there but .. along came the clerk of works, signed the job off and said 'that's a much better colour, really pleased'. Sometimes the customer just has to be right ... but, with colours and perception you have to be careful ... not always what is perceived is the same as it should be.

 

[JamezF]

with colours and perception you have to be careful ... not always what is perceived is the same as it should be.

"The dress"

James

 

[Vanterrier]

"The dress"

James

Black and Blue for me mate
K

 

[JamezF]

I've just remembered that a small percentage of women may perceive colour differently because they have four types of cone receptor in their eyes rather than the usual three. I'm not aware that anyone knows how many are likely to be able to do so however, because as well as the additional cones everything needs to be wired up in the brain properly as well.

Men don't have the same facility because the "red" and "green" cones that contribute to the effect are coded on the X chromosome, so men only ever get one copy whereas women have two. They can however get a red or a green cone mutation, so a small percentage of men also perceive colour differently from most.

I guess most people who have these mutations are completely unaware of them which is probably another reason that comparing colours is so tricky.

There's more information on the effect here

James

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

I look forward for the first frosts!

Might be a long wait.

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

with colours and perception you have to be careful

Our marriage has survived but describing colours has always put a strain on it. Technically, I am colour blind, but I have little experience of that away from colour blindness tests.