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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Catherine Adamson <cadamson AT alumni.unc.edu>
  • To: beecd AT icloud.com
  • Cc: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Carrboro bees
  • Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 08:11:47 -0500

Hi John,

I know just how you feel.  My dad, who also keeps bees, set a patio chair out in his beeyard and could watch the traffic come and go for hours.

As for pollen this time of year, one of the nice things about urban keeping is that humans tend to find ornamentals that bloom at different times of year .  I was surprised to see huge amounts of pale pollen on baskets in January but realized that at the nursery, just a mile away, a whole stand of mahonia was in bloom.

They aren't getting enough flying time for proper foraging but they will definitely find the occasional midwinter snack.

On Dec 13, 2014 11:48 AM, "Randall Austin" <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:
Nice observations, John! Thanks for sharing. This reiterates that we can learn a lot from our bees by just watching them come and go. In fact there is a book (free download), At the Hive Entrance, that tells you all sorts of things to look for and what they mean. Note that this book was written with respect to German beekeeping, but many/most of the concepts can be carried over to US beekeeping. Just don't take everything it says literally at face value. Of course that caveat applies to US beekeeping books too!

With respect to your observation about bees flying in cold weather, my understanding is that bees cannot EFFECTIVELY FORAGE at temperatures below the low 50s. However I have seen them FLY as low as 47 or so degrees. Those bees are assumed to be on cleansing flights (defecating/pooping), not foraging.

The asters should be long gone, at least in my area, but clearly there are things blooming, whatever they are. The next major bloom that we beekeepers are anticipating is from maples, which should start in late January or so. The temperatures in January and February often pop up into the 50s and 60s, giving bees an opportunity to forage. The maple pollen provides the protein for explosive brood production in late winter.

Bees can be caught out too long in cold weather and their muscles quit working because of the cold. I once found a dead bee on the landing board during a cold spell, and since it was such a nice-looking specimen I decided to add it to my classroom show-and-tell materials. I carried it in the palm of my hand back to the house, but by the time I got to the door the warmth of my hand had revived her. I returned her to the entrance of the hive and all was well.

Randall Austin


On 12/12/2014 10:41 PM, John Rintoul wrote:
I've read that bees don't fly when the temps are below 55F.


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