After several nights of below 30 degree temps it was good to see all my hives emerge still looking healthy this weekend. The temps for Friday ,Saturday and today were in the high 60's, low 70's. Much to my surprise they were hauling in pollen from somewhere. I don't know where it was coming from but there was plenty of the bright orange stuff. Maybe they went to visit Lowes garden center.
Ragweed is a rather bright orange color, still some of it around to be collected by the bees here in Arkansas. I have noticed mine bring it in until the first hard rain after the first hard frost. Then for the rest of the winter, if there is a warm enough day for them to be flying, they will bring in the dark crimson red color pollen that I think is Eastern Red Cedar. The first colors to show up in the spring are the pale pale yellow of henbit and dark yellow/orange of dandelion.
Most of the time bees will not bring in pollen when there is no queen.To being in pollen whenever they can is normal.The queen will shut down if there is no necter coming. If your temps are to stay high feed them that will get the queen started again.If you have lots of cool weather to come let them be.She will start when she is ready
Lots of bees flying yesterday, but no pollen that I could see. Big orientation flight on one hive, good to see.
Bees will collect pollen and nectar any time they can fly and they find some, so I would guess the usual sources here got frostbitten at the beginning of the week and nothing has bloomed since. Last week they were busy in my neighbors flowers.
I've been seeing small orientation flights almost every day. It's kind of interesting to watch them all try and fit through the entrance reducers put on for the winter season. The temperatures have been in the sixties lately and there's lots of bee activity, but there's nothing for them to eat since we've also been having freezing weather for over a month.
been checking hive entrances everyday 6000' Colorado oh ya to my surprise they were bringing in pollen today white..not usual since its been down in the low 20's we had two snow storms also but the snow has melted already..humm tomorrow going to check the maple trees to see if the have been tricked to bloom already since day temps went down to low 30's for 2 weeks now there back up in the mid 50's.
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