A few questions for ya all

[Chef Isaac]

today was pretty neat. The temp was arounf 54 degrees and the bees at the house were flying. It was cool!

I did notice they were bringing something in. I am not sure if it is pollen or propolis. How do you tell the difference when the bees are brining it in?

Is there any corralation between bees brining in pollen and brood being raised? Would it be ok to say if they were bringing in pollen, the queen has started to lay?

I cant wait until Spring!!!

[George Fergusson]

>How do you tell the difference when the bees are brining it in?

They bring in propolis whenever they need it, but more so later in the summer and fall as they get ready for winter. Propolis isn't a big springtime priority for them and they don't delegate a lot of bees to collect it in any case, and certainly not this time of year. They seem to collect propolis when it's hot out. I've only ever seen one bee bringing in what I was sure was propolis, it was a whitish gummy looking gob of stuff on it's legs. If you see a lot of bees bringing in something, especially this time of year, it's a good bet it's pollen.

>Is there any corralation between bees brining in pollen and brood being raised?

Yes.

>Would it be ok to say if they were bringing in pollen, the queen has started to lay?

Yes.

[BjornBee]

George,
I've never seen white propolis. Any idea from what plant you think it came from?

[George Fergusson]

Not for certain Bjorn but I'd suspect spruce or fir of which there is quite a bit around here. The bee I saw had a couple of other bees apparently trying to rip it's legs off but on closer inspection it appears they were just helping to get the gum off the forager's legs.

Really fresh propolis around here, the stuff they glue new boxes and frames together with, is almost the color of ordinary chewing gum to start with- kinda grayish white, tending to a light brown. It's sticky- similar consistency to chewing gum too. After it's aged and hardened it becomes a more traditional dark reddish color and is only sticky when it's really hot, depending on how much wax the mix with it I guess. It tastes vaguely like pine pitch though they clearly mix other stuff with it.

An interesting story- last spring I stopped to look at a strange flowering tree in someone's yard. It turned out to be a Tulip Poplar and it was covered with flying insects of every description. I'd never seen one before. The home owner came out to talk with me and said he'd brought the bush with him from Connecticut- it's now a 30' tall tree. Then he pointed to a classic Blue Spruce in the yard and said that's what the bees were really interested in. When I asked? "In the fall" he said. "They're all over it" smile.gif

[Chef Isaac]

Once I think about it, it is my understanding the propolis is rock hard when it is colder out so I am not sure if the bees could actually forage for it or not.

I cant wait until Sprig. Its like a little kid waiting for the ice cream truck on a hot summer day....

did someone say ice cream???? mmmmmm!!!

[Ruben]

When they are bringing pollen and nectar in she will start laying. I had one out of stores but they were bringing pollen in, as soon as I started feeding it they had brood soon after.