Episode 415: Autumn Brood Box Swap

Hi everyone and welcome back to the podcast and it will come as no surprise to you.

that my first thoughts turn to the weather once more.

Is anyone here in the UK fed up with the ongoing weather situation? Personally, I'm very concerned about the lack of rain.

We've had a dribble, but not much at all, really.

I was at my allotment this morning, and honestly...

Everywhere is still bone dry, so much so that the water was not soaking in at all, just running off the surface and puddling beside the vegetable beds.

It's important, of course, because the plants our bees use for foraging on right now are also desperate for a drink.

They need the water so that they can produce nectar in order to entice pollinators, our honeybees included, to along for a rewarding supply of nectar as they pick up pollen and move it around the plants, pollinating as they go.

Watching my colonies over the last couple of days has shown me that they are still able to forage successfully.

So many of those plants are getting some moisture from somewhere because pollen continues to be brought back into the hives along with nectar.

And it's not just ivy.

I'm seeing a variety of different colours of pollen.

Now I know I sound a little bit like a broken record sometimes, but getting a look at pollen under a microscope is a really excellent way of seeing what the bees are foraging on, particularly at the different times of the year.

The colour of the pollen is a great first step in identification, although it's very easy to jump to the wrong conclusion in identifying pollen loads.

Talking of pollen loads, if you're lucky enough to have a first edition of Dorothy Hodger's book, The Pollen Loads of the Honey Bee, you'll have the colour plates in the back of the book to reference.

Just looking at that, I can see that the bees are definitely foraging ivy, verbascum and evening primrose.

Each of those I've seen still in flower at a couple of our apiaries.

there is also Himalayan balsam.

Although not in the Dorothy Hodges book.

A very little rose bay willow herb still about there.

And at home, I've seen the local bees in our front garden on dahlia flowers.

And in the back garden, they've been foraging on marjoram or oregano.

And I don't think we can discount the importance for urban beekeepers of the parks and gardens that surround our beehives.

Long may they continue.

Anyway, back to the weather.