Ivy pollen

[Jon]

Walking the dog this afternoon, I noticed that there is a lot of ivy bud yet to open.
It is usually gone by Christmas but was very late to start flowering last autumn.
The forecast is for very mild weather so there could bee quite a bit of bee activity the next couple of days.
Glad I got my oxalic treatment finished when the weather was cooler.

http://www.forecast.co.uk/belfast.html

[gavin]

Mine were flying yesterday when it was 9 or 10C but I doubt that the local ivy will have much to offer them. Just toilet breaks and maybe sorties for water to help the fondant go down. Some of that stores dilution and relocation you mentioned before. At this rate the carpets of winter aconites will not be long coming. Does late ivy open in early spring or does it just give up? I don't remember seeing ivy flowers properly open in the new year.

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[Jon]

The odd bee was bringing in yellow pollen today.
Highs of 12c predicted for the next 3 days.

[gavin]

Ivy was in flower today in Aberlady in East Lothian.

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[Bumble]

We've got a 'native' primrose flowering in our garden.

[keith pierce]

Scraps of yellow pollen coming into the two poly nucs on the roof of my garden shed, since 10 this morning.Looks like ivy as well.

[Jon]

Do you think any of your queens have started laying again yet?
I am hoping the mild weather and a bit of available pollen has not started them off again as the weather is set to turn colder again later in the week.
There is never any significant amount of pollen around here until late February when the first of the willow starts.

[keith pierce]

This year i would think so, as the weather as been mild and pollen has been coming in for awhile. I am off for a few days next week and if i get a fine day i will have a quick peek inside a few.

[Gscot]

Bees flying hard last 4 days bringing in pale pollen "Could this have any effect long term to the colony?" apart from using more stores.

[Jon]

There are a couple of things to watch out for.

A colony rearing brood will use up stores more quickly so keep an eye on that.
The other thing is that a colony with brood can succumb to isolation starvation even though it has stores only a couple of inches away.
The bees won't leave the brood to get to the stores in a very cold spell.

I posted a picture of a small colony which finally succumbed to isolation starvation the other day.

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[Gscot]

Mine are on the fondant at the top of the frames in the super Here,s hoping the queen has not layed many eggs in the bottom brood chamber

[Jon]

The queen usually starts laying at the top where it is warmer.