Slow Spring = Slow Buildup?

[Tremyfro]

Obviously if you live in a large city or a town...your bees, if they are in a sheltered spot, will build up more quickly...as temperatures tend to be a little higher.
I live on a hill facing the Bristol Channel...a beautiful spot and the views are incredible. I have found my bees are building up but not to be compared with some I hear about. I know the weather has a huge effect on forage and bee flying time. Here, temperatures have been around 12-14* at maximum. I wonder how much influence actually having the hives in a sheltered spot....sunny but sheltered from the wind...would have on build up? I can't change the local temperature...I wish!
What do other beekeepers find with the buildup and their own hive locations?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I find build up depends more on availability of early pollen which I suppose does depend to a certain extent on the weather. My bees tend to fly at 10 degrees as long as it's not windy.

 

[Tremyfro]

My bees do fly at lower temperatures..ha ha they have to....I have seen them out at 5 degrees if it is dry.
I intend putting up some wind break...so I will be interested to see if it helps...won't change the rest of the environment though.

 

[Chris B]

Overall a little bit behind here, but definitely varies by apiary. 3 weeks ago we checked 36 colonies and found an average of 3 good brood but none had emerging brood, suggesting a brood break running into March. That would delay the population explosion a bit too.

 

[nantmoel]

Only now are my bees really starting to get going, yes they have had brood for a while now, but its cold here and the build up is slow.

 

[birdsandbees]

I'm not too far from Chris B but I have bees in my back garden in suberbia, they haven't stopped raising brood all winter and two of the three here are expanding at a rate of knots with Drone numbers growing and looking really good, the third a different strain has been very slow, lots of stores but barely more than three half frames of brood, I've since put that down to a failing queen rather than location.

 

[Finman]

.
First of all, build up depends on, how big is the bee cluster after winter: 5 frames, 8 or 15.

Then, hive needs pollen or pollen patty.

All bees fly at same temperature. They are not genetically so different. Their tiny limbs become cold in small wind, and they are not able to gather pollen on willows or in tree canopy. If flowers are at ground level, effect is very different.


When I strted to heat hives in spring with terrarium heaters, I noticed how big influence is has to build up. Effect of windy place was eliminated.

 

[Finman]

I'm not too far from Chris B but I have bees in my back garden in suberbia, they haven't stopped raising brood all winter and two of the three here are expanding at a rate of knots with Drone numbers growing and looking really good, the third a different strain has been very slow, lots of stores but barely more than three half frames of brood, I've since put that down to a failing queen rather than location.

If you have a few hives in the yard, variation is creat between individual hives. I even differencies and I give emerging brood from bigger hives to small ones. But take care, you cannot take much when the build up of big hive stops.

If the hive has good pollen stores over winter, like Carniolan tends to have, it can start early and it rears a good gang of brood nursers.

 

[Tremyfro]

Apart from the nuc...my other colonies came out of the winter on 6,5,4 seams of bees. At my second inspection each had increased the brood by one more frame of brood. They all had lots of stores and pollen around brood and on frames next to the brood. I think at the next inspection I will need to move some of the stores to give the queen more space if she lays up another frame.
It's interesting that the added warmth of the terrarium heaters increased the rate of buildup. Do you have to remove stores out of the brood box or do they use them? My bees seem to be ignoring them. One hive has 3 frames of stores....on the north side of the brood box. Which is ok ATM as they have brood on 4 frames...so still 3 frames to go before needing the space.

 

[misterbee82]

The information I have acquired indicates that the temperature being at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the pollen sources being abundant helps with the increase of colony growth. The increased pollen and warmer temperatures motivate them to work on the brood and the wax and honey production in the hive.

 

[Finman]

The information I have acquired indicates that the temperature being at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the pollen sources being abundant helps with the increase of colony growth. The increased pollen and warmer temperatures motivate them to work on the brood and the wax and honey production in the hive.

Now it is the weather in UK. Low temps and rain. Bees cannot get enough pollen stores into the nest.

When you write into google 'foreca Gardiff', you see conditions next 14 days. Rain every day and temps 10-14C.

 

[misterbee82]

10 to 14 degrees Celsius is 50 to 57 degrees Fahrenheit. But the rain is something the bees aren't fond of flying in.

 

[Finman]

Apart from the nuc...my other colonies came out of the winter on 6,5,4 seams of bees. At my second inspection each had increased the brood by one more frame of brood. They all had lots of stores and pollen around brood and on frames next to the brood. I think at the next inspection I will need to move some of the stores to give the queen more space if she lays up another frame.
It's interesting that the added warmth of the terrarium heaters increased the rate of buildup. Do you have to remove stores out of the brood box or do they use them? My bees seem to be ignoring them. One hive has 3 frames of stores....on the north side of the brood box. Which is ok ATM as they have brood on 4 frames...so still 3 frames to go before needing the space.

Now I read that they have pollen stores around the brood. It is good.

Your colonies need more heat, that the cluster could be wider.
- first thing is that close the mesh floor.
- Second is that move the nest to polyboxes.
- And if you want see a miracle in growth, put there 15 W cable heater on floor.

Best of all, electrict heating teaches meaning of heat in brooding.
Heater can be kept so long in hives that day temps are over 17C.
.You may buy only one heater and look how it works. Price is £20 or something. Long electrict cable to garden is another £25.

Extra food.... Difficult to say. In spring bees consume really much stores when they rear brood. I use to move extra food off, but then when bees really get nectar from nature.

 

[madasafish]

I overwintered all my conventional wooden hives in insulation cosies . My TBH was insulated and my MB polyhive had a tophat on .

We are c175 meters above sealevel , on the edge of th Peak District. Winters tend to be cold, wet and windy. And lots of frosts.and snow.(but not this winter).

All colonies had loadsofstores, had been varroa treated in Autumn and vaped in January. Al young queens.

I started feeding in March.

Lousy Spring but best build up ever and no losses. LOTS of pollen... mainly tree.

I have radically changed form TBHs only to jumbo langs and the way I do things: the results speak for themselves. So far . Cross fingers.

 

[REDWOOD]

closest to sea level apiary is two weeks more advanced than the other one.

 

[Finman]

.
When I have fed pollen patty to bees, I have noticed that in bad weather week bees slowed down brood rearing naturally to half, and in sunny week they make eggs hive full very quickly. It is bees' natural habit to adapt to weather and save resources.
.

Then I have had bee strains, like Elgon, which did not mind what weather it is. They reared brood in spring like mad. I must be careful, that they did not starve out in their speed.

 

[Tremyfro]

Now I read that they have pollen stores around the brood. It is good.

Your colonies need more heat, that the cluster could be wider.
- first thing is that close the mesh floor.
- Second is that move the nest to polyboxes.
- And if you want see a miracle in growth, put there 15 W cable heater on floor.

Best of all, electrict heating teaches meaning of heat in brooding.
Heater can be kept so long in hives that day temps are over 17C.
.You may buy only one heater and look how it works. Price is £20 or something. Long electrict cable to garden is another £25.

Extra food.... Difficult to say. In spring bees consume really much stores when they rear brood. I use to move extra food off, but then when bees really get nectar from nature.

I already have my bees in poly hives. I keep the floors closed. I am building a windbreak on the fence of the Bee Yard. Although temperatures are still low and there is a cold east wind...the bees are flying every time the sun is out. We have had a few days of better weather even though it is still too cold. I am going to try the heater idea on one hive...I am intrigued.
I will leave the frames of stores in the hives until the weather improves more....
It is interesting about the forecasts. It often tells us it will rain...but then it doesn't. We live just a few miles from the coast and so the forecast I often wrong...but we seem to always have winds. East wind is cold but dry...southwestern winds are warmer but wet.

 

[jeff33]

All my hives have been building up really well. So much so I already had to do artificial swarming on 2 hives over the last week. All my hives are south facing and well sheltered from all winds apart from south (although I have now made wind shields in front of them). They get the sun (when we have any) from 9 til 3ish...and my bees have been bringing in pollen since mid-Feb.

 

[Tremyfro]

Are you in a built up area Jeff? Or out in the country?

 

[Finman]

All my hives have been building up really well. So much so I already had to do artificial swarming on 2 hives over the last week. All my hives are south facing and well sheltered from all winds apart from south (although I have now made wind shields in front of them). They get the sun (when we have any) from 9 til 3ish...and my bees have been bringing in pollen since mid-Feb.

We believe that. Forecast to Swansea. Temp under 10C and rain almost every day.