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Nectar flow predication for the North east?

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Discussion starter · #43 ·
I have peach and plum bloom here but don't see bees working them, they missed the Maple. Dandelion are out but never have seen bees working on them. Can't understand what it is they are on but I see the pollen coming, from what, I don't know?! most trees just have started loosening their buds. lot of ornamental trees have bloomed also...
 
#44 ·
clyderoad said:
Another thing I found is lots of hives short on pollen stores when I checked them early this spring. I think the long warm fall and late spring took it's toll this year and I wasn't on the ball.
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Found the same, but they had plenty late in the fall, so I suspect they brooded up in that warm spell in Feb.
 
#45 ·
clyderoad said:
We are ok, thanks for asking. Higher than normal losses for me over this winter, nearly 35%. Normally I'm in the teens. Queenless, stuck away from stores and mite outs seem to be the issues. Looks like I need to alter a few things post flow this summer and into late fall. Like good young queens heading my hives, may have to start wrapping hives for winter, regularly feeding pollen sub in the fall, and watching my bees closely for mites later in the fall especially around the mid November-mid December time frame if it's abnormally warm and others in my area start reporting a lot of dead outs in the late fall.
Another thing I found is lots of hives short on pollen stores when I checked them early this spring. I think the long warm fall and late spring took it's toll this year and I wasn't on the ball.

Hives are building now but are still behind. Combined some, stole brood from others and made up my pollination hives for fruit trees. Berries are still a few weeks out so I have time to get them up to snuff for my berry growers.
Working hard to have my production hives ready for nectar and making a honey crop, I've been feeding dry pollen sub for better than 2 months and finally there
is enough available naturally that they are ignoring it. Finally some warm weather too (as I write this it's the first week long stretch of decent bee weather this spring). Looks like they missed most of the maple bloom due to weather, that hurt.

Hope you and your bees are well up there in the mountains and have a good season.
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I found queenless in one, short pollen stores but fed Ultra Bee on a bench whenever I could during the good weather times. Also found no brood in some of the hives; they have it now. A few are really big but not much drone brood so cant split just yet. 3 day mite drop some had 0 and no more than 3 ( ox vaped Nov. 30). So we lost 4 out of 15. Hope your season goes well too.
 
#46 ·
Last year here in Middle TN we had an early nectar flow which only lasted 10 to 14 days. Thank goodness for a large privette flow later on. But as a whole, last year was a disaster. We had huge blooms of white clover in the spring/summer and aster in the fall for the last 3 years but we didn't get 1 drop of nectar from these 2 important nectar sources.

The spring flow has just started. I have plenty of black locust in the area but didn't notice them blooming until yesterday. I was traveling down I-840 and I-65 today and I could see huge areas in the woods that were snow white from the black locust blooms. I got a call today about a swarm in Murfreesboro. It wasn't a swarm. The tree was a small leaf holly tree that was in full bloom. Every type of bee in the area was all over the tree for it's nectar. The blackberry thickets on my farm are starting to bloom. I also noticed today that the tulip poplar is starting to bloom. Looks like the nectar flow is starting to get in full swing. I pray the Lord blesses us with a good flow.

P.S. We had more dandelion blooms all over the place than I can remember. The white clover is starting to get into full bloom too. Another beek and I noticed back in early April or late March that the clover was coming up every where. Neither of us can remember clover coming up so strong and that early.

My hives are busting out at the seams now. I am having to do splits to keep them from swarming but I missed at least 2 colonies from swarming. I also purchased 5 Sackatraz queens. I got them a couple of weeks ago and I am having a hard time keeping them from expanding too fast. I have already added a 2nd box on all four hives and also finished filling up the 1st box with frames at the same time.
 
#47 ·
It sounds like your blessing is there already! Very happy for you for such a good flow. I saw a bud on a dandilion today; not much else except the overwintered bulbs and the maples. Some hives are huge, and we cant split yet because we need some mature drones! Where did you buy your Sackatraz queen from? Thanks, Deb
 
#50 ·
Not me, yet, though my bees are busy and the Spring Dearth is not a thing this year because the beginning and middle of spring got collided with one another. But I think it's getting used up catching up with brood raising.

Red maple just finishing; shadblow nearly at peak; wild plum coming on; coltsfolt past prime, and the dandelions have started. No sign of mustard, yet. Daffodils arrived, flowered and gave up the ghost in last week's hot weather. <<sigh>>

Nancy
 
Discussion starter · #51 ·
I have dandelions everywhere, crabapples redbuds but don't see honey bees working them. whish I could fins out what they are working on they look very busy. I keeping my fingers cross for another two weeks of delay to the main start as some of my hives still need time to buildup. I have noticed the bloom on apples and fruit trees is lot more intense, you see the same?
 
#52 ·
I agree with Nancy regarding the beginning and middle colliding. The pears are flowering(which I believe usually flower after the dandilions), dandies havent yet but see their buds, maybe one or two, flowering quince open flowers, maples, and a tree I havent identified at the local market, honey bees all over it, small white flowers. And they are storing nectar :) yay It is a confusing Spring so far regarding plant nectar. As for building up, some hives I need to split, but will use a nuc with a new queen, others are a bit slower building. Thats beekeeping for you, you can anticipate one thing and then get something totally different.
 
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