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Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:17 Aug 2021, 21:11
by NigelP
Nice to report it's looking like a good year on the heather. All supers are filling nicely, the moors are a mass of purples and pinks. The scent is heady and there are still florets yet to come into flower. However, knowing heather the flow can suddenly stop for no reason at all, yet occasional years it just goes on and on.....we shall see.
If anyone is ever thinking of visiting Yorkshire to see the heather now is the time to come, it's quite spectacular in places.

Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:15 Sep 2021, 16:10
by Alfred
Finally the ivy has started humming- my steady as she goes feeding plan has paid off.
Ill put the big feeders on at the end of the month and continue with the small ones until then

Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:16 Sep 2021, 20:18
by AdamD
I received a "swarm call" from a school which had fenced off a hedge because there was 'a bee hive or swarm in there.' As I suspected, it turned out to be insects feeding off the ivy, and loving it. The Ivy was above hand-reaching height so I explained that the bees and other insects are interested in food and not a bunch of teenagers playing football so the risk to the kids is minimal. However I suspect that the bollards and orange tape will remain until the ivy stops flowering.

My bees were flying strongly first thing in the day - less so in the afternoon.

Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:19 Sep 2021, 11:03
by Steve 1972
A good sized patch of wild mint is flowering which the bees like..also the snow berry bushes are covered in bees and by the amount of blue/purple pollen coming in the bees have found some phacelia somewhere.

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Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:20 Sep 2021, 01:47
by MickBBKA
Its been very interesting on my travels the last few weeks. Cambridge 4 weeks ago I found lots of Lime trees in flower, ours were done weeks before that. I was in Matlock this week and found a field bursting with Dandelions. Here at my out apiaries the colonies with HB are still bringing it in. Closer to home in our local village post office back garden my bees are filling supers with a very dark honey which looks just like heather at a glance but with a very unusual aroma. The only thing in flower that I can see is Russian vine. I must take a pollen sample.

Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:23 Sep 2021, 10:56
by Caroline
Steve 1972 wrote:
19 Sep 2021, 11:03
by the amount of blue/purple pollen coming in the bees have found some phacelia somewhere.
At this time of year blue pollen due to Caryopteris clandonensis. I have some in my garden and the bees are all over it.

Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:26 Sep 2021, 15:06
by Steve 1972
Not sure where the bees are getting it from as ivy is still a month away but the little darlings are piling big loads of yellow pollen in..at a first glance from a distance I thought all the colonies where getting attacked from wasps.. :D .

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Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:26 Sep 2021, 17:17
by NigelP
It's probably ivy......mine are doing the same although the visible ivy around me is not yet in flower. However , a long walk found a couple of very sheltered sunny spots where it is flowering and covered in wasps!

Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:26 Sep 2021, 18:48
by Steve 1972
It must be ivy Nigel as nothing I know of that produces pollen like that is in flower as far as I can see..to top it of this is a funny little spot in Northumberland where crop fields start flowering higher up and then it sweeps down the fields slowly..

Re: Forage , what's flowering in your area?

PostPosted:27 Sep 2021, 11:53
by AdamD
Ivy has been flowering well over the past week or two around me and colonies are getting full. At the weekend there was a nice ivy-honey aroma around my out apiary. Bees were flying from 7:30.