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Posted by Summerchild (U14187397) on Friday, 11th March 2011
I was delighted to see a bee making the most of the flowers on hyacinths in a pot in my tiny yard. (His legs seemed full of something that was dark. Could that really be pollen?)
Having bees in the area bodes well for the veg and herbs (also in pots). I plan to grow some foxgloves with their similar shaped flowers for the bees to dive into, in order to keep encouraging them.
Are there any bees around in your area?
Summer
Yes - we live in Richmond, Middx and have seen some big bees this week on our red flowered pulmonaria (rubra) and also small bees on the camellias in Bushy Park. Bees do seem to love pulmonaria so we have planted them all round the garden - the red one comes out in January and carries on to the end of April so it is a really good thing to get if you want bees all through the spring. Could any one else recommend early flowers for bees?
, in reply to message 2.
Posted by honestGreengrass (U11104227) on Saturday, 12th March 2011
Have you seen the bumblebee hives that are now for sale? Type Beepol Bumblebbes into google and there's a quite a few reputable stockists.
My runner beans are going to be setting this year for sure!!
, in reply to message 3.
Posted by Joe_the_Gardener (U3478064) on Saturday, 12th March 2011
Quite a few bumblebees in the sun, but yesterday I was watching a whole lot of solitary bees, possibly Andrena armata, digging their holes and leaving the little piles of what looks like fine sieved sand around the entrances.
(If a 'lot of solitary bees' sounds like a contradiction, they do nest singly - unlike honeybees - but their nests are often in quite large groups, in this case about 150.)
After working hard in the garden this morning I sat on the patio enjoying a glass of red (yes it really was that warm here in Essex today) and watched the birds, a couple of bees and even a butterfly ! Nan x
, in reply to message 5.
Posted by ladynovicegardener (U5368058) on Saturday, 12th March 2011
I saw a huge big bumble bee in the white crocus a couple of days ago in my garden. I've also seen my first butterfly. I'm in Northern Ireland.
My garden has a winter floweering honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima I think.
It looks a bit drab most of the year, but just now, when the sun shines, the garden is filled with the scent of lemons (?) and more importantly the buzzing of honeybees.
Hi folks,
Nan, that sounds just lovely, Cheers.
janebal, I brought a couple of pulmonaria plants to my new garden here but you make me want more.
ladynovicegardener, it seems that bumblebees like white crocus, I saw a huge one too, on a clump of white crocus in my son's garden today.
Tootsietim, that honeysuckle sounds heavenly. Must get some for the wall near my door.
What about on the allotments? I wonder what is drawing the bees there at the moment?
Anybody able to answer my question about dark pollen? I wonder if the bee brought it with him to the hyacinth, or the other way round.
HG and Joe, thanks for your info. Getting more fascinated by the minute.
Summer
Hi Summerchild
All the bees you see gathering nectar and pollen from flowers and water and propolis are in fact sterile females assuming you are only talking about bumble bees and honey bees. There are relatively few male bees or drones in a bee colony and they do not collect anything. Their aim is to mate and then die and those that do not mate are kicked oit of the colony before winter.
I do not know what dark pollen is found at this time of the year. Spring flowers produce yellow pollen in varying shades and it is not normally until summer that you see dark pollen, reds, browns, blues, black.
Oops, gender confusion.
Thanks TS
Summer
At the beginning of the month, I saw a dozen or more honeybees attending eagerly to some snowdrops. A heartening sight but very unusual. I've never seen bees out early enough in this part of the world, Worcs, to be using snowdrops ... apart from the odd dopey bumblebee on a sunny winter's day. My father in law keeps a couple of hives but one has not survived the winter. Bee welfare is getting to be quite an issue, and rightly so.
Hi Paul
Honey bees do not hibernate. If the weather is fine they will fly at any time of the year. If there are pollen bearing flowers available they will collect pollen. Early snowdrops and crocuses are good early sources of pollen. This is a good sign because it means the queen is laying and new bees are being produced. Pollen is fed to the larvae as they develop along with some of the stored honey.
Fortunately my 4 hives made it through the winter and today was a good day for the one in my garden with lots of pollen being taken in.
There were also queen bumble bees flying around the garden looking for flowers to provide food. They will be looking for a site to build a nest. I didn't realise until recently that the different species of bumble bee emerge from hibernation at different times and their breeding seasons vary with some species nearly finished beforte others begin breeding..
I saw both a large bumble bee and a solitary bee on my allotment on Saturday. No flowers out at the moment on mine although neighbours have daffodils and primula so I guess they were just passing through.
I live in Norwich, went to a small garden centre on Sunday and saw lots of bumble bees and honey bees on the Hellebore there.
Hi Summerchild,
I've seen the odd solitary bumble bee around my garden for the last couple of weeks now. Checking on my diary for the last couple of years, seems to be about a similar time to normal for this garden. J.
I've noticed several bumble bees cruising around, trying to find nectar plants.
What they are most attracted to, in my garden, at the moment, are hellebores.
, in reply to message 16.
Posted by honestGreengrass (U11104227) on Tuesday, 15th March 2011
You've just got to see this!!
Hi Paull2.
I'm sorry to hear about your father-in-law's hive. You are right the bee population is a real concern.
Joe-the-Gardener, All the bees I have seen in my yard recently have been solitary ones. Apart from the odd bumblebee these single ones seem to be honeybees, but, if they live as you describe, do they make and store honey in the same way as bees in a colony or in a hive?
Summer
No
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