Oil seed ****

[Cuckmere couple]

Yes, quite a few acres of OSR about a mile away. Also some big fields of dandelion within 100 metres

the second picture of your first post has some bees covered in yellow which suggests they are on OSR

 

[Cuckmere couple]

the second picture of your first post has some bees covered in yellow which suggests they are on OSR

this one for example

 

[Cuckmere couple]

this one for example

View attachment 39740

and this



you also have some old comb on the floor, ideally you dont want to get into a practice where you leave that around for hygiene reasons imho

 

[Do224]

and this

View attachment 39741

you also have some old comb on the floor, ideally you dont want to get into a practice where you leave that around for hygiene reasons imho

I agree. I knew someone would comment on that!

 

[Cuckmere couple]

I agree. I knew someone would comment on that!

commented nicely

 

[Antipodes]

Yes, quite a few acres of OSR about a mile away. Also some big fields of dandelion within 100 metres

I was reading today that OSR pollen is pretty good stuff for the bees. High in protein and highish in fat too. They reckoned that nectar production depended somewhat on the variety of OSR.

 

[Curly green finger's]

It’s about 14 celcius a settled this morning and the bees are very busy. Can anyone identify the pollen they’re collecting as OSR…or at least very likely to be OSR?


View attachment 39734

Taste and smell the pollen off the inspection board you will know if it’s osr

 

[Do224]

Taste and smell the pollen off the inspection board you will know if it’s osr

The bees are busy today but there’s very little pollen going in… I guess they’re gathering nectar now

 

[Mint Bee]

heavy petal drop on the OSR so harvested some frames at the weekend. Maybe 40 lb. if lucky. mostly uncapped and 30+% moisture so will need drying. Already starting to set in the comb so I've added the supers to a hive that has just been upgraded from a nuc, in the hope that they use the the remains to build brood comb. Not really worth the effort, but didn't want to leave in the supers as may have triggered crystallization of summer crop

 

[Do224]

heavy petal drop on the OSR so harvested some frames at the weekend. Maybe 40 lb. if lucky. mostly uncapped and 30+% moisture so will need drying. Already starting to set in the comb so I've added the supers to a hive that has just been upgraded from a nuc, in the hope that they use the the remains to build brood comb. Not really worth the effort, but didn't want to leave in the supers as may have triggered crystallization of summer crop

30%…how do you go about dealing with that??

Did you put the super over or under the bb you want them to draw out with it?