borderbeeman
House Bee
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2009
- Messages
- 123
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Coldstream, Scottish Borders
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 10
Opened my hives for the first proper inspection today, since the weather was warm and sunny. Found huge amounts of willow pollen being stored - what a fantastic resource this tree is!
Brood patch surrounded by Willow Pollen
The finest free protein source around
I also fed all of my hives with 1:1 sugar syrup in Ziploc bags - they had been given mushy sugar in February but they had finished all of it. So just a top-up to encourage them before the wildflower nectar starts to appear.
It is worth finding the willows in your area and taking some cuttings to spread more trees around.
![4512324554_2e0ce43674_o.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/6f7/6f72d0d5f813456e8d716f20637c4365.jpg)
Brood patch surrounded by Willow Pollen
![4511680525_4d2c4dcc04_o.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/0d2/0d2ac4c5966e47579b86bd912e303454.jpg)
The finest free protein source around
I also fed all of my hives with 1:1 sugar syrup in Ziploc bags - they had been given mushy sugar in February but they had finished all of it. So just a top-up to encourage them before the wildflower nectar starts to appear.
![4511681513_6f44fc3d06_o.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/553/553527e4dd3c1d468752a69837d28101.jpg)
It is worth finding the willows in your area and taking some cuttings to spread more trees around.