well thats summer over,she stopped laying

[psafloyd]

Floyed I just had a look at Wikipedia and they mention 100 variations and some are good for bees so I hope yours is one of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddleja

Thanks, Tom. I'll have to keep an eye on them. They certainly went for a stunning purple flowered tree early in the season. It has quite tight balls of flowers, and I will report if the go for these.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Queens have reduced laying for sure for me. There was still bramble out at the weekend but I expect that after this week and little flying it will be finished. When the weather has been sunny the bees have been out. I wonder how many don't come back when the rain and wind suddenly come.

 

[Skyhook]

Starting to worry as, although there's still a bity of bramble around here, most of it is over, lime was over weeks ago; and I've got 3 small colonies still needing to build up. Still laying, but not romping away like a they were 2 or 3 weeks ago.

 

[susbees]

One of my hives wanted to swarm last week, so i had to do an AS on it. They must have thought they have enough time to raise a new queen and get her laying before winter comes in or they would not have wanted to swarm, i would have thought. But worst comes to the worst i can combine them back into one hive latter

I lost a swarm of sorts last week from a small colony and have hived three swarms this month including a prime with marked queen which has all but drawn a commercial box and a super in under a fortnight. I gave them a little feed two days ago.

Not sure what our flow is doing...very locally we seem to have mostly giant willowherb...is that a nectar plant? No HB, no late rape as they seem to have south of here and playing havoc with some honey crops, still a bit of bramble in flower and clover but too cold for nectar. Also borage in flower and the comfrey's starting its next cycle. Also heleniums and sedums but not much of either (project in progress).

The globosa x ordinary buddleia is very attractive to look at (unlike globosa IMHO) and useful honey bee plant. I have seen a few bees on the ordinary buddleias this year on my travels...maybe some variants are shallower than others?

 

[susbees]

Thanks, Tom. I'll have to keep an eye on them. They certainly went for a stunning purple flowered tree early in the season. It has quite tight balls of flowers, and I will report if the go for these.

If it is blobs of flowers rather than a long inverted cone then it is likely one of the globosa x I just mentioned. There is a purple, a yellow and I think some rarer ones. You can play at making your own if you have a globosa and the ordinary ones .

 

[MuswellMetro]

well, i got a few eggs again ,with the improved weather

still very little forage except one site with a little balsam

nucs fed 1:1 are however laying for king and country

 

[Kate's Bees]

It amazes me to hear just how different the conditions are in our tiny island.

I'm in Liverpool and the Lime is only just coming to an end, still a bit about but not much. Seeing some HB, lots of willow herb and buddlea, wish that was better for bees.

My queens are still laying well and no signs that the drones are being kicked out as some have spoken of.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Lime gone blackberry too still some rosebay no balsam. My lot are out at 7am straight out no stopping in the same direction.
Is there tree honeydew....sycamore?
There is bell heather on the fells maybe a mile and a half away
Two colonies are still making drones

 

[Winker]

I pulled all my supers off last week. Fed 2 supers back to one hive above the crown board, there was a bit of crystallised honey, enough to make up 2 supers. They licked them dry. I left them one super just for room, the queen is still laying for England. Anyhow I looked in today and the super is half full again and most of it is capped.

I walked the dogs tonight and there is still some blackberries coming into bloom i have loads of HB around. The 4 hives at the bottom of the garden look as if they are still on a good flow.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Husband just phoned on the way home, been out on a rescue in the Howgills.....says lots of bees on the heather there even in the rain. Not ours.....to far away

 

[Crg]

well, i got a few eggs again ,with the improved weather

still very little forage except one site with a little balsam

nucs fed 1:1 are however laying for king and country

The flow around here does seem to have dropped off quite a bit- seen more bees working clover lately, and they're really going for the purple loosestrife.

Got some dark stuff, which I might be honey due coming in, which is quite early for here.

Lots of juicy blackberries around though.

 

[Beeline]

My lot are coming in with bagfuls of light yellow pollen. Anyone else getting loads of similar coloured pollen? No idea of it origin - maybe this "golden rod" everyone talks about. For weeks now it's been Balsam so good to have a pollen source in abundance.

I'm surrounded by woodland covered in Ivy - is this likely to provide much in the way of honey. Not wanting it for myself - just don't want to start feeding in September for Winter stores when theyve got this on their doorstep - that's if it is a prolific nectar source?

BL

 

[victor meldrew]

Lots of nectar and pollen from ivy
It granulates very quickly into rock hard crystals.
Some say it's not much use to bees as they can't deal with it . I happen to think that the bees can in fact soften/ liquefy it and use it .
VM

 

[Beeline]

Ah, then maybe this explains the sudden emergence of this light yellow pollen. I thought ivy produced nectar only.

You would have thought that if some beeks feed their bees a handful of sugar in emergency situations then surely the bees would be able to make use of crystalised honey.

 

[Tom Bick]

As with VM Ivy is a great late pollen and good nectar source.

I say good nectar source that as long as your hive is not depending on the nectar of Ivy for winter stores they can handle it well. If its all Ivy and the colony is not very strong they may struggle

So if you need to feed in September after taking the honey give them some syrup and also let them forage on and store Ivy.