Privet Hedges in Bloom

This week the privet hedges which border the eastern frontier of Spike Acres have been in bloom. The hedges continue in front of Number 3, resume across the road at Number 5 and persevere intermittently along the road on both sides. There's a lot of it. And just about all of it is currently untrimmed leaving a feast of blossom for our bees.

A very short journey to the privet hedge at Number 5

The BeesofSpike flyers are doing a steadfast job on it at the moment.
It is certainly one of the shortest journeys of their foraging year and the lovely smell of privet is now emanating from a very busy Hive Number 2.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Spring at the BeesofSpike Apiary

Sunday the 3rd of March 

Today was the first truly spring-like day of the year. 

It was still too cold to open the hive, but the sudden change in the seasons meant that there was now plenty of action outside the box.


Apiary Diary: Observations

11.30am: Bright sun and feeling warmer than it had for ages. 
The Apiary thermometer was only reading 6.1C but there were already lots of flyers, a few returning with pollen.

Morning: still a bit chilly

12 noon:  A little warmer and significant numbers of bees now flying.

A larger proportion of bees were returning with pollen and there was constant activity.

The flight patterns seemed less focussed than summer foraging flights. 
Much of the activity around the front of the hive was less direct, more chaotic, very probably orientation flights.

Soon after this the activity died away to nothing, perhaps coinciding with it clouding over a bit.

2pm: The sun had emerged from behind the clouds and the temperature had risen to 10.7C. The bees were back flying again. 
The flights built up from a small start to large numbers of bees which caused a bit of a traffic jam and the odd ruck at the small winter entrance with lots of pushing and shoving to get in and out.

Winter entrance already looking a bit on the small side

This time there were significantly more bees returning with pollen.

There was also a variety of colours, implying that there are already a variety of sources out there somewhere.



Meanwhile, away from the Apiary, the back doors and windows of Spike Towers were open to let in as much fresh air as possible.
Judging from the shouts coming from inside, LandofSpike (who was at the far western borders of Spike Acres carrying out some maintenance on the Apiary structure) was soon aware that the fresh air was not all that was being let in.

There were quite a few bees inside too.

LandofSpike had to employ his trusty queen clip to gently capture, then liberate, all the bees trapped in the house.

Every home should have one

This quite unexpected incursion of bees into the house is interesting because the only other time it has happened was on the bees' very first day in the Apiary, when there was, for one day only, a constant stream of the fellers getting trapped in the conservatory.

LandofSpike presumes these were bees scouting the new territory for sources of nectar and pollen. 
Having returned to the hive with the news that there was none to be had in the house, no more bees bothered to come visit all season long.

So, bees in the house on the first proper forage day of spring, isn't such a surprise after all. 
It was simply scouts re-mapping the territory.

This first day scouting may also account for the increasing returns of pollen as this first day progressed.
In the morning areas rich in pollen had been discovered, and the locations had been relayed to the colony, so that, in the afternoon, foragers knew exactly where to go.

Next up, a bit of Apiary maintenance and then, the first inspection of the new season.

Foraging in January

Yesterday, as reported on this blog, the bees were out and about in great numbers due to the unseasonably mild weather.

While in the Apiary, LandofSpike also noticed a few workers returning with polllen. 
There was uncertainty as to where this pollen could be coming from so early in January.

Today, the 9th of January, it's still sunny and is a pleasant 9.3C in the Apiary. 
And, with bees still in the air, the mystery of where the pollen's coming from has been solved.


It now transpires that at least some of it was coming from the thicket of Mahonia just outside the front gates of Spike Towers.
Mahonia is a dense little shrub which bears blue-black berries and is armed with some pretty spiky and tough evergreen leaves.

The council's favourite loiterer deterrent 

The local council plant Mahonia in places where it deems people need to be deterred from loitering. 
Seemingly, the raised bed area in front of Spike Towers has been designated a No-Loitering Zone as they've filled it with a healthy patch of the stuff.
This has the happy bonus of supplying the BeesofSpike with a reliable local source of winter forage.

Bright January sunshine, bright yellow flowers

At this time of year Mahonia has the most brilliant yellow blossom. It's amongst the earliest bloomers of the year.
And the BeesofSpike were all over it.

A BeesofSpike worker enjoying some January forage 

NeighbourJane takes the credit for spotting foragers industriously working the Mahonia in the sun this morning and LandofSpike was able to get some nifty photos to record the event.

Pointy leaves to deter humans, Lovely yellow flowers to attract bees

The bees don't usually have many opportunities to fly in the winter months but, if it's mild enough, Mahonia can now be officially added to the Winter Forage List.