The bees have, for the past 2 or 3 weeks, been bringing a little bit of pollen. Not a lot, but every now and then I would see a bee or two returning to the hive with small pollen b
askets on their legs. I was never able to figure out where they were getting it as I have not seen anything in bloom since last fall. As I was walking across the yard today I noticed that the pussy willow was finally popping out in yellow. (It has had the little white buds for a couple of weeks now.)
When I arrived at the pussy willow I found bees all over the place. They should really start packing in the pollen now.
I assume that at least the majority of the bees were mine, but there are two other hobbyist beekeepers here in town. One has a couple of hives just about 3 blocks from our house and the other has 2 more hives just about 1/2 mile away. I suppose there could be other feral colonies in the area as well.
I took several photos but I am no photographer. These two are the only ones that were even half way in focus.
7 comments:
the photos are great...i love ready about the busy little bees...thanx for the updates!!
i meant READING...lol
Hi guys! We have pussy willow in the garden and with this being my first spring with bees, I noticed the masses of pollen this tree produces. What a lifesaver for all that brood! Our milder climate means that our willow is probably about 3 or 4 weeks ahead of Wyoming's so the pollen is now nicely stored aware in those frames! Glad I've discovered your blog. Cliff
hi garp
looks like lovell is about a week ahead of powell althou i must cofess my girls are finding some pollen somewhere as they are bringing both red and white in at a furiouse rate.
i am kinda in the same boat as you with the "ton-o-bees" in the hive and wondering if they are planning a quick escape when i am not looking. I am shooting at doing a split or two just as soon as i see a couple of drones out and about, hope they will wait that long before they swarm :)
beebiker
Red and white pollen, huh? My girls had been bringing in a very pale yellow prior to the pussy willow bloom- then it all became the color of the willow. Dandelions started blooming a day or two ago and the dark yellow/orange started coming in.
Gareth aka garprob
For not being a photographer your pictures are really fantastic. I just purchased another lens for my camera, but I'm not sure it will do the trick. I'd like to take nice pictures for my bee journal. I love the visuals on your blog, they are really interesting.
My girls have been bringing red, yellow and it almost looks like white pollen in on their legs. I don't know where they are going to find it as most of the stuff in my yard right now isn't what they like. I'm hoping to get some clover seed this week and get that planted.
I would like permission to use your photo on a website I oversee for the Catskill Mountain Beekeepers www.catskillbees.org . I am redoing our bee yard calendar section and am trying to find photos of bees on flowers for every month.
Thank you,
Sally Lord
wedontrentpigs1@gmail.com
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