N. IL beeks, the black locust flow is on!

[c10250]

Get those supers on. My hive put on 14 lbs yesterday.

[Oldbee]

What's that, about 3 weeks ahead of normal bloom time for Black locust? Growing degree days for Black locust is between 450-530 for first bloom to full bloom. Our area is close to that already. In past years the GDD was around 200 for this time of year. It depends on what base temperature one uses. A lower base temperature is used for plant growth than for the emergence of insect pests. Thanks for the notice about that!

http://www.soils.wisc.edu/uwex_agwx/...ls/degree_days

[c10250]

Capture.JPG

Daily weight of hive.

[Barry]

So is the clover.

[NorthernIllinoisPlumber]

Thanks!

[geebob]

Yeah, the clover is starting to pop all over SE Wisconsin as well. Have a neighbor with black locusts, but they look about a week away.

[Ricky Bee]

In my part of Northeast Ohio (Portage County), we have almost completely lost our locust bloom this year. The premature buds were severely frosted several weeks ago, and the new foliage has no blossoms. Bummer. But my bees are going crazy bringing in nectar from somewhere, probably the profusely blooming blackberries. Maybe that will save us this year.