Pics of my very busy beautiful bees

[Jen]

[LazyBkpr]

wow.. thats a lot of pollen coming in!

[Jen]

No poo poo Sherlock!

[barry42001]

how come they're not wearing their thong bikinis, oh wait they're not on vacation. yeah they are working something is really rich in pollen

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[Jen]

Silly Barry!! Because my girls wear country cut offs and a halter top!

[Woody Roberts]

Mine have really been hauling in the pollen the last few days. Buildup will be in full swing.

Now is when they'll starve to death.

You also have to be careful to not over feed. They'll backfill the broodnest and try to swarm as soon as they have drones.

[Jen]

? That doesn't make sense? If this is the time that they will starve, how can you over feed?

And, how would I check for that?

I'm feeding sugar syrup with HBH, they are taking in about a 1/3 of a quart a day...

[barry42001]

because they're trying to  cure that thin syrup into honey. to do that they have to spread it out over a large area, the only area they have available to spread it out in is brood comb

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[Woody Roberts]

You have to keep an eye on the broodnest. It needs to have a honey/ necter/ sugar water band across the top but if it starts to go too low the queen won't have a place to lay.

When feeding with a quart jar I've found most hives will take about a jar a day or a little less. I'll keep it full for a couple days and let them run out for a day or so.
At the first sign of nectar I stop feeding. If I notice the honey band receding I'll start feeding a little.

It's probably more art than science.

It's one of the biggest mistakes I see beginners make. Too much or not enough.

[Jen]

Woody- how often do you check your hives?

[Woody Roberts]

In the spring I like to go thru them once a week. I believe they can swarm in about 10 days. Meaning if you checked and there were no swarm prep going on they could still swarm in 10 days.

I've only had one hive swarm since I started. Maybe I missed checking it or I missed seeing them prepping.

Since I've always been more interested in raising bees than making honey and I'll start a nuc as soon as possible swarming has never been an issue for me.

The hive that swarmed is the only one I've brought thru the winter with a older queen and left alone.
That won't happen again. I don't have any issues with a fall raised queen in her first spring. All queens over a year old go in a nuc as soon as the blackberries bloom. I'll keep her from swarming until then by keeping the brood nest open.

[apisbees]

Great photos Jen 17 out of 34 bees are bringing in pollen. and the bees with out pollen some would be guard bees and others young preparing for orientation flights. So as Lasy stated that is a high percentage with pollen. Although some times it's timing and a group of foragers end up returning to the hive at about the same time from being out doing the same task. Plant provide pollen all day but some will only produce nectar for a few hours during the day. Dandelions in the late morning and fruit trees in the early afternoon.

[blueblood]

I like the photos Jen.  I always learn something from Apis, good info.

[apisbees]

And everyone  thought I wasn't paying attention during all the bee and pollination meetings. But like everyone else I can't remember all the information I have forgotten.

[Jen]

Apis- ""But like everyone else I can't remember all the information I have forgotten.""

Boy! I hear ya on that comment Apis! So often my head is full of scrambled eggs 

[Woody Roberts]

Sometimes I think I could hide my own Easter eggs!

[LazyBkpr]

And everyone  thought I wasn't paying attention during all the bee and pollination meetings. But like everyone else I can't remember all the information I have forgotten.

   LOL!!   wow, glad that NEVER happens to me......................