BBKA Forum

No moors for me. However despite blackberry in flower a week or more ago, hives were very light until the weekend and bees are finally starting to bring in nectar with bees fanning in the evenings.

Lime is well out now and trees are humming but not sure if the bees are foraging it. There is a very unusual mix of pollen coming in now. No sign of RWH or poppy although they are in full flower. There is some very bright red pollen I have never seen before and light grey pollen. HB in flower now but bees not coming back marked. Its a very different year..............................AGAIN.......lol

Rose Bay is very early this year, usually flowers in august around my area, but currently in full bloom. Looks like summer is finishing early. Thank goodness for the moors.

The fields of white clover near to my apiary of been cut, unfortunately. .

Was on the Wynyard estate this morning about 6:45 setting up a market. The lime trees were buzzing with honey bees in their 1000's. It was quite an amazing sight and sound.
By 10:30 there wasn't a honey bee in sight, presumably the nectar had dried out or they had taken it all.
There is one very lucky chap on that estate with his bees.....tells me his hives are bursting with lime honey at the moment. Not surprising as there are literally 100's of mature lime trees scattered over the parks and woodland.

You're right Nigel - Lime trees secrete nectar at night (warm sultry ones are best), hence the morning activity.
(FN Howes; Plants and Beekeeping. Out of print but well worth getting second hand if anyone wants a good book, cheap).

Leaning over some beehives at the weekend, I sensed, what can only be described as the smell of a PE kit that had been hanging in the changing rooms all term. The privet is flowering profusely around me with several hundred metres of hedges buzzing with bees. I only hope the aroma will reduce over time. However bees are doing well on it with the blackberry flowering too.

RBWH is at about 50%. Clover in town is amazing, I have never seen so much and for so long, sad thing is I have no colonies in town. Apiaries on the farms are well out of nectar, BBKA crap about the 'main flow after July' should be removed from its gospel or at least regionally corrected. Now have feeders on some ready for winter. My new apiaries are doing well still though as they are close to the rivers and seem to be benefitting from invasive species of plants. Bramble seemed to come and go in a very short time and you could hardly tell it was in flower. Lots of meadow sweet in the hedgerow.

Western North Yorks moors are pinking up nicely with plenty of ling now out and plenty more to follow.
Judging by a quick heft of supers on hives that have been there for a week or so we have failed to get a bell heather harvest.....yet again. All my heather hives are now out there on two different moors and fingers are crossed.

What a difference a weekend makes...there is a lovely heather flow on at both the moors I've hives on. Best hives have half filled a super each already and not been there a week yet. Weather ahead looks good with some rain and some high temperatures, ideal nectar producing weather and lots more ling to come into bloom.
Fingers crossed for a bumper harvest after two years of dross.