What's flowering as forage in your area

[peterbees]

Bell heather is starting to show purple in Sychnant Pass, Conwy today.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Blackberry is starting to flower and another swarm in the plum tree .
I've no more nuc boxes . Help!!!!

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[Ian123]

Collect the swarm and just unite with spray/air freshener, any more swarms keep chucking them in. A top box with separate entrance often means a second laying queen. An ideal set up for a box of sections if you have a flow starting or on

 

[Curly green fingers]

I've United two, but have 2 in 6 frame nucs and one in a 11 frame brood box with a laying queen after 8 days.

The two in nucs are from the same plum tree 30: metres from the apiary.
The same place twice ??

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[Ian123]

Yes same spot/branch is common and can be year after year. They clearly leave behind some scent/pheromones

 

[Ian123]

Depending if you want the increase or not just unite the whole lot and get a honey producing unit for main flow and free up some kit

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Collect the swarm and just unite with spray/air freshener, any more swarms keep chucking them in. A top box with separate entrance often means a second laying queen. An ideal set up for a box of sections if you have a flow starting or on

Ian for clarity you wouldn't cull the new swarm queens - just chuck them in complete?
I have a similar situation to deal with. Seems there's so many swarms the local associations don't have people waiting for bees to give them to at the moment.

 

[Ian123]

Depends a bit on the situation i have many times collected swarms within a few days of each other and these i have just chucked into a box together or on top of the 1 already hived using spray or airfreshener. I have never had 1 go q-less, if they are well established and queens are laying then i would take a wild guess a which was the better and paper unite. You could cull the old girl or leave on a couple of frames in a nuc if you wish. The aim of all this is to keep a limit on numbers free up kit or just before the main flow starts to create a hive able to collect a surplus.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Blackberry is starting to flower and another swarm in the plum tree .
I've no more nuc boxes . Help!!!!View attachment 16938View attachment 16939

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Nothing worse than a load of bees on your plums

 

[Murox]

Yes same spot/branch is common and can be year after year. They clearly leave behind some scent/pheromones

So now you know where to place your bait hive/swarm trap for next year.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Depends a bit on the situation i have many times collected swarms within a few days of each other and these i have just chucked into a box together or on top of the 1 already hived using spray or airfreshener. I have never had 1 go q-less, if they are well established and queens are laying then i would take a wild guess a which was the better and paper unite. You could cull the old girl or leave on a couple of frames in a nuc if you wish. The aim of all this is to keep a limit on numbers free up kit or just before the main flow starts to create a hive able to collect a surplus.

Good point the main flow is a week or two away locally ,
The spring crop is still on the hives at home it doesn't look like much , but there strong hence me having to put more supers on .
Im going to unite all swarms ready for the blackberry flow that's the plan I'll have 7 good production colony's ready .
I'm picking 5 supers and frames up tonight .
It has been a season of buying more kit , and then buying more and more ill have to put a stop to it for my own good.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Depends a bit on the situation i have many times collected swarms within a few days of each other and these i have just chucked into a box together or on top of the 1 already hived using spray or airfreshener. I have never had 1 go q-less, if they are well established and queens are laying then i would take a wild guess a which was the better and paper unite. You could cull the old girl or leave on a couple of frames in a nuc if you wish. The aim of all this is to keep a limit on numbers free up kit or just before the main flow starts to create a hive able to collect a surplus.

Thanks Ian, that's really useful.

 

[beebopper]

Ok so it’s rained cats and dogs for a couple of days and it about to change to sunny and warm. Bramble is just starting to flower. I am expecting a nice nectar boost in the next week or so. Do people this is optimistic or realistic or just can’t tell.

 

[Repwoc]

Ok so it’s rained cats and dogs for a couple of days and it about to change to sunny and warm. Bramble is just starting to flower. I am expecting a nice nectar boost in the next week or so. Do people this is optimistic or realistic or just can’t tell.

Sounds like chicken counting.

 

[thedozzer]

Went for walk this morning and there are quite large patches of bramble flowering, the lime buds are just starting to open and the girls are brining back lots of black pollen from somewhere, busiest they have been in weeks.

 

[Millet]

When is lime supposed to flower..here in the north east it has flowered and gone..i suppose like everything else this year it was a month earlier than it should have been.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Went for walk this morning and there are quite large patches of bramble flowering, the lime buds are just starting to open and the girls are brining back lots of black pollen from somewhere, busiest they have been in weeks.

We are all moving to your area then it's been raining all week here ... Oo I saw the sun yesterday for 5 mins and a two week old swarm decided to swarm.
What a season this is turning out to be.

 

[GuyNir]

the girls are brining back lots of black pollen from somewhere

Poppies I believe.

 

[Millet]

I have two of these in the garden and they are covered every year with honey and bumble bees of all kinds.

 

[Antipodes]

Is that a ceanothus? They really are a bee magnet. Bees seem to like blue!