What's flowering as forage in your area

[enrico]

Sticky boards have been showing pollen has come in. Also some colonies gained 5+ lbs in weight around Xmas / new year period.
Are your weekly weight checks showing much variation at the moment. Mine have just started to lose some weight.

If you have wooden hives you have to allow for the weight of wet wood. I only weigh when they have dried out.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Sticky boards have been showing pollen has come in. Also some colonies gained 5+ lbs in weight around Xmas / new year period.
Are your weekly weight checks showing much variation at the moment. Mine have just started to lose some weight.

Hi, my weekly weight loss is averaging 2.26 lb .
6 colony's brood/half on the 15th of November had an average of 60 lbs of stores .
These are Amms .
The pollen found on the inspection boards is pollen stores..

 

[WalnutTreeBees]

Bees were on the Aconites in Oxfordshire last week, although this cold spell has put an end to that.

 

[Eyeman]

View attachment 16387

This **** seems to be in flower most of the year.

 

[Eyeman]

If you have wooden hives you have to allow for the weight of wet wood. I only weigh when they have dried out.

Here are the weight changes from Jan to end of March when most hives started to put on weight. Average weight loss till the weight increase was only 6lbs! I think this may be explained by the bees finding forage during the winter months rather than them being frugal bees.

 

[Eyeman]

Hi, my weekly weight loss is averaging 2.26 lb .
6 colony's brood/half on the 15th of November had an average of 60 lbs of stores .
These are Amms .
The pollen found on the inspection boards is pollen stores..

My pollen is right next to the entrance so looks like incoming pollen.

 

[SDM]

View attachment 16388

Here are the weight changes from Jan to end of March when most hives started to put on weight. Average weight loss till the weight increase was only 6lbs! I think this may be explained by the bees finding forage during the winter months rather than them being frugal bees.

How do you explain the majority losing weight end of jan-feb but 2 or 3 gaining 10lb ?
Theyre your robbers as far as im concerned.

 

[Eyeman]

How do you explain the majority losing weight end of jan-feb but 2 or 3 gaining 10lb ?
Theyre your robbers as far as im concerned.

The max weight loss till 21/3/17 (before weight gain) was 13lbs that's over the 11 weeks of monitoring with an average of 6 lbs- that's only approx average of 1/2lb / week. They then take off and week later and I'm adding supers on the 30th March which was the date of my first full inspection that year. Must be more than simple robbing?

 

[Millet]

How do you explain the majority losing weight end of jan-feb but 2 or 3 gaining 10lb ?
Theyre your robbers as far as im concerned.

I have had hives gain weight in winter also and it was not robbing...
too cold for bees to rob in big numbers and if the three that did gain weight they must have robbed one of mine which stayed the same weight through out winter...which was roughly 100lb..the other three gained around 8/10lb in weight with no forage... i have it wrote down somewhere so work that one out but forget the robbing theory..

 

[Curly green fingers]

My pollen is right next to the entrance so looks like incoming pollen.

A bit of a contrast between my colony's and yours i know it's data from different years and we live in different area's both my apiarys are 450 metres on the south shropshire hills ( cleehill, catherton common.) What are your thoughts. ..

 

[Popparand]

You guys. All these plants blooming. Cleansing flights. Pollen!

I'll just be dreaming for awhile. First pollen 2017...April 7. 2018..April 22

Supposed to get 1-2 feet tonight. Monday...-40F wind chills. Lovely

Lovely summers though!

 

[Michael Palmer]

-24˚F this morning. Too much!

 

[wightbees]

Early but I drove by a field showing some but not lots of yellow flowers? **** I believe, will have a better look this week!

 

[Curly green fingers]

Early but I drove by a field showing some but not lots of yellow flowers? **** I believe, will have a better look this week!

Did you find out if it was osr.

Flowering here mahonia , gorse ( bee's foraging on) crocus are almost out .
Snow drops, wall flowers are blooming not that I've seen the bee's on them.

 

[Stiffy]

Hi, I just thought I'd start up a thread on what's flowering as forage in your area. ( Locally)
Here in South Shropshire ( clee hill ) there's hazel, gorse, mahonia. There might be more but this is what's around my apairys.
All pollen sources.
Thanks mark.

Hazel , gorse(2 species, so never stops), camelea , flowering cherry, blackthorn all in flower in the glorious far SW. Fields of farmed Daffodils and narcissi have almost gone over but still plenty opening in hedgerows, latter provides for bees
The last week, bees have been out in force taking advantage
S

 

[Curly green fingers]

Hazel , gorse(2 species, so never stops), camelea , flowering cherry, blackthorn all in flower in the glorious far SW. Fields of farmed Daffodils and narcissi have almost gone over but still plenty opening in hedgerows, latter provides for bees

The last week, bees have been out in force taking advantage

S

Do you have any photos , here's my girls on crocus down by the river at 2pm today it was 13 C

River teme apairy bee's
Sent from my Nokia 1 using Tapatalk

 

[Swarm]

 

[Millet]

It was 13C here today and the bees where on the crocus gathering pollen..all the white/purple and yellow are in full flower a month early but the bees are not complaining.

 

[simonforeman]

Can not believe all you have crocus out and mine are just poking out the ground....apart from a couple of weeks we've been very mild.

 

[Millet]

Can not believe all you have crocus out and mine are just poking out the ground....apart from a couple of weeks we've been very mild.

I think the reason mine are so early is i have them in planters 3ft above the ground to stop the chooks from destroying them..at my Northumberland site the crocus are just breaking the surface the same as yours..