What's flowering as forage in your area

[Erichalfbee]

My lot found something in bloom yesterday.. Every other Bee was coming back with packed thighs. Is this Ivy? Looks a bit light in colour.

Yellow Pollen

Yes looks like it.

 

[Curly green finger's]

My lot found something in bloom yesterday.. Every other Bee was coming back with packed thighs. Is this Ivy? Looks a bit light in colour.

Yellow Pollen

It sounds like your ivy flow has started .
The hive/s should be sounding like a Hoover at night if the weather's good for the next week or so .
Is there lots of ivy locally?

 

[enrico]

My lot found something in bloom yesterday.. Every other Bee was coming back with packed thighs. Is this Ivy? Looks a bit light in colour.

Yellow Pollen

Just a tip horseradish. Your landing board leads to the OMF and not to the entrance. Be careful you don't get clusters of bees under the OMF. They can die in their hundreds from the cold as the nights get colder just because they can't find their way through the floor.
It is a common fault with OMF floors. No criticism just a tip!!!!!
E

 

[Horseradish]

Hi there,

It was flush until I installed a hive monitoring system. Now the base sits on top of the scales, hence the gap. I will probably install an insert or a bolt-on landing board shortly. I noticed yesterday that tired heavy bees were undershooting the entrance.

 

[Murox]

I'm Gobsmacked

Sometime over the last few days a misinformed landowner has had the ragwort across a whole hillside pulled out. Its not even really harmful to us humans and the main risk to animals is if ragwort has been cut, dried and gets mixed up in dry hay fed to livestock. Cattle around here know not to eat it anyway.

This “ragwort hysteria” has removed a vital source of food for my bees, moths and other wildlife ... based on what? The real irony is that this hillside was planted up with mixed trees in order to help create bio diversity, and fenced off with deer proof fencing so there are no livestock issues. Bonkers I reckon.

 

[Millet]

Ivy nowhere near here maybe in a months time something might appeal to the bees from it..however the garden hives are hammering the Balsam..

 

[Millet]

Sometime over the last few days a misinformed landowner has had the ragwort across a whole hillside pulled out. Its not even really harmful to us humans and the main risk to animals is if ragwort has been cut, dried and gets mixed up in dry hay fed to livestock. Cattle around here know not to eat it anyway.

This “ragwort hysteria” has removed a vital source of food for my bees, moths and other wildlife ... based on what? The real irony is that this hillside was planted up with mixed trees in order to help create bio diversity, and fenced off with deer proof fencing so there are no livestock issues. Bonkers I reckon.

You can not make up some of the silly things people do ..round near me the council plant loads of bee friendly flowers that are of very little use to bees but they look nice..they then cut the green belt every two weeks that is full of beneficial white clover and then folk moan on with the declining bee population.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Bees absolutely piling the ivy in

 

[Repwoc]

Ivy close to flowering here.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Sometime over the last few days a misinformed landowner has had the ragwort across a whole hillside pulled out. Its not even really harmful to us humans and the main risk to animals is if ragwort has been cut, dried and gets mixed up in dry hay fed to livestock. Cattle around here know not to eat it anyway.

This “ragwort hysteria” has removed a vital source of food for my bees, moths and other wildlife ... based on what? The real irony is that this hillside was planted up with mixed trees in order to help create bio diversity, and fenced off with deer proof fencing so there are no livestock issues. Bonkers I reckon.

Until the bloody Victorian railway companies planted the damn stuff along their cuttings to provide passengers with interesting plants to look at as they travelled there wasn't a ragwort problem. Now every bit of uncared for or untended space has the bloody stuff growing. Each plant can produce thousands of windborne seeds that spread for miles.
Don't tell me it's beneficial stuff. I have to continuously monitor my grazing fields or it moves in as soon as I turn my back.

 

[Ian123]

Sometime over the last few days a misinformed landowner has had the ragwort across a whole hillside pulled out. Its not even really harmful to us humans and the main risk to animals is if ragwort has been cut, dried and gets mixed up in dry hay fed to livestock. Cattle around here know not to eat it anyway.

This “ragwort hysteria” has removed a vital source of food for my bees, moths and other wildlife ... based on what? The real irony is that this hillside was planted up with mixed trees in order to help create bio diversity, and fenced off with deer proof fencing so there are no livestock issues. Bonkers I reckon.

They are legally obliged to remove the stuff

 

[WalnutTreeBees]

They are legally obliged to remove the stuff

Not true. A landowner can be served a notice to control Ragwort and stop it from spreading, but there is no obligation to remove any plant until you are served this notice by Natural England. Usually that would be after a complaint from a neighbor who is worried contamination of pasture etc, but that would require official investigation.

 

[Curly green finger's]

In Shropshire today and for the weekend ( Ludlow food festival).
Made 10 litres of 2:1 syrup for the 4 production colonys and nucs ( all mongrel bee's).
630am and there busy ghost bee's coming into the hives .
Does anyone else think the balsam is late this year not flowering but the girls are working it late this season.
Last year at this apiary I had supers on and extracted balsam honey early September , how two seasons can differ .

 

[Murox]

They are legally obliged to remove the stuff

No they are not. Both laws relating to weed control are frequently misquoted and cited.

 

[Murox]

In Shropshire today and for the weekend ( Ludlow food festival).
Made 10 litres of 2:1 syrup for the 4 production colonys and nucs ( all mongrel bee's).
630am and there busy ghost bee's coming into the hives .
Does anyone else think the balsam is late this year not flowering but the girls are working it late this season.
Last year at this apiary I had supers on and extracted balsam honey early September , how two seasons can differ .

There is very little HB where I am, but I did find a small patch (not near the apiary though) which was seeding in the middle of last month, in a sheltered spot right by a beach.

 

[farmerboy5470]

They are legally obliged to remove the stuff

Correct

Not true. A landowner can be served a notice to control Ragwort and stop it from spreading, but there is no obligation to remove any plant until you are served this notice by Natural England. Usually that would be after a complaint from a neighbor who is worried contamination of pasture etc, but that would require official investigation.

Incorrect - nothing to do with natural England as Murox is in Scotland

No they are not. Both laws relating to weed control are frequently misquoted and cited.

Incorrect - SGRPID can impose penalties / fines where appropriate

Back on topic - HB

 

[Apiarisnt]

Ragwort

Weeds Act 1959 as amended by the Ragwort Control Act 2003

While not always a fan of FotE, this is worth looking at: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/ragwort-poisonous-ragwort-mythbuster

 

[Murox]

My original point was that “ragwort hysteria” removed a vital source of food for my bees, moths and other wildlife. Irony was the area was planted up a couple of years ago with mixed trees in order to help create bio diversity, and fenced off with deer proof fencing so there was no livestock issues.

The laws around this plant as continuously twisted and misrepresented even by local councils.

 

[Curly green finger's]

There is very little HB where I am, but I did find a small patch (not near the apiary though) which was seeding in the middle of last month, in a sheltered spot right by a beach.

I spent some time over the summer pulling hb up while in flower .
It's growing where there's lots of brambles and Willow herb in a two mile strip along road sides/ dingles and shaded area's. There's still lots around and it's literally on the door step growing .
You can't get to some of it - well I could if I was to take the tractor / digger out but I'd be destroying natural Flora which I obviously don't want to do .

I've seen it growing a long side fern / bracken in fields nr the mountains so it doesn't just like growing in damp/ shaded area's .
The honey produced from hb is very thin and tastes buttery , not the best imo.
But still worth leaving for the bee's - catch 22 I think!
Mark.

 

[Swarm]

Oregano ... still they work it.