Bees Flying

[msansome]

Hello All,

It is a gloriously sunny day here in London. Even though it is only the middle of February, I noticed that my bees are out and about.

I don't suppose however, that there is much for them to find.

Bearing in mind the fact that the weather could quite easily turn cold again, should I put a feeder on now; or should I have a word with them and tell them to snuggle down under the duvet for another couple of months?

Mark

[Jim Norfolk]

Mine are out and about too and a little pollen going in; yellow crocus and white from hebe. If it had been warmer I might have had a look in to see all is well with brood and stores. Instead I rely on the weight of the hives sugesting they have plenty of food. You need to heft your hive and if it feels at all light put a block of fondant on over the feed hole. If you use insulation, make sure the insulation goes over the fondant so the bees will continue to access it even in cold weather.

[Gerry]

My bees are bringing back pollen and stepping up rate of brood production during this warm spell. They are eating stores as evidenced by the pile of wax bits from the cappings on the ground beneath the mesh floor but the hives are still heavy with stores. There is no point in feeding if they still have plenty of stores which they should have if you fed them properly in the early autumn. You can estimate the weight by hefting the hive or using hand held luggage scales. In this mild weather you can, if you are worried about how much stores they have, take a quick peak under the crownboard and count the number of frames of stores. Most of us simply leave them to get on with things as they would in the wild. I have only ever had to feed at this time of year twice in 59 years . It is still a bit early to use a liqjuid feed so if they need feeding use bakers fondant.

[msansome]

Thanks Chaps,

I think that they're OK for stores (but I will go out tomorrow and heft the hive to be sure) but I was concerned that they would be foraging fruitlessly and tiring themselves out (and possibly dying). Thus I wondered if I should give them some syrup to keep them happy at home.

I will, given the advice above, just keep an eye on them, but put off feeding them for a few weeks yet...

Many thanks!

Mark