Joseph Clemens
06-20-2009, 10:53 AM
So far, our annual rainfall = 1.43 inches, which includes a brief rain, last night, that raised our relative humidity to 29% and moistened the ground to about an inch.
Earlier, this Spring we had nectar and pollen (to help build-up), from Creosote Bush. Then our Mesquite flow began at the usual time (around 15 April), but instead of continuing into July, it was over by the end of May. :(
Last year we had a typical Mesquite flow and my fifteen hives had an average of three, 8-frame, medium supers each, of Mesquite honey. Their populations were too darn big and they had used up most of that reserve before December. I believe the only reason it lasted that long, was how they began robbing each other, and the war that ensued (lasted about three days), severely reduced the number of hungry mouths to feed. Left the apiary an inch or two deep in dead bee bodies. Curiously, no hives were destroyed, just quite a bit depopulated. Before the war all the full-size colonies were very nearly equal in strength.
This season, though I began feeding early (around December), I kept their populations in check by robbing brood and nurse bees to grow Nucs, some of which I sold, some I used to raise and store new queens, and some I used to start new colonies. This caused some curious effects: 1) No hives were strong enough to bring in large amounts of honey; and 2) No hive has a population near as large as most had at this time last year, to eat honey with.
So far there is no full-scale robbing. Some Nucs are almost entirely empty of nectar or honey, though they seem to be able to forage enough to raise relatively large areas of brood. Others have several combs of sealed honey and still seem to be gradually bringing in more. Some have combs of fresh pollen and nectar. Some others are bringing in a little Prickly Pear fruit juice (I know they feed this to brood, somehow it even gets into royal jelly, where it adversely affects queen development) along with nectar of unknown origins. Other than the Prickly Pear, I cannot find where and what my bees are foraging on. I drive and walk around my area trying to find something in bloom, but I can't find what they are foraging on.
One thing that is fascinating is how colonies, side-by-side, with their strength and most all other factors, equal, one will be bringing in lots of nectar and large amounts a particular color of pollen and the hive next door will be bringing in almost no nectar and pollen of a different color, though less of it.
Earlier, this Spring we had nectar and pollen (to help build-up), from Creosote Bush. Then our Mesquite flow began at the usual time (around 15 April), but instead of continuing into July, it was over by the end of May. :(
Last year we had a typical Mesquite flow and my fifteen hives had an average of three, 8-frame, medium supers each, of Mesquite honey. Their populations were too darn big and they had used up most of that reserve before December. I believe the only reason it lasted that long, was how they began robbing each other, and the war that ensued (lasted about three days), severely reduced the number of hungry mouths to feed. Left the apiary an inch or two deep in dead bee bodies. Curiously, no hives were destroyed, just quite a bit depopulated. Before the war all the full-size colonies were very nearly equal in strength.
This season, though I began feeding early (around December), I kept their populations in check by robbing brood and nurse bees to grow Nucs, some of which I sold, some I used to raise and store new queens, and some I used to start new colonies. This caused some curious effects: 1) No hives were strong enough to bring in large amounts of honey; and 2) No hive has a population near as large as most had at this time last year, to eat honey with.
So far there is no full-scale robbing. Some Nucs are almost entirely empty of nectar or honey, though they seem to be able to forage enough to raise relatively large areas of brood. Others have several combs of sealed honey and still seem to be gradually bringing in more. Some have combs of fresh pollen and nectar. Some others are bringing in a little Prickly Pear fruit juice (I know they feed this to brood, somehow it even gets into royal jelly, where it adversely affects queen development) along with nectar of unknown origins. Other than the Prickly Pear, I cannot find where and what my bees are foraging on. I drive and walk around my area trying to find something in bloom, but I can't find what they are foraging on.
One thing that is fascinating is how colonies, side-by-side, with their strength and most all other factors, equal, one will be bringing in lots of nectar and large amounts a particular color of pollen and the hive next door will be bringing in almost no nectar and pollen of a different color, though less of it.