The temperature here is suppose to get into the 80's soon. Maybe that will kick the nectar flow in, :) it seems like it has been slow
Quote from: dgc1961 on April 22, 2009, 04:41:03 PM
The temperature here is suppose to get into the 80's soon. Maybe that will kick the nectar flow in, :) it seems like it has been slow
I was thinking the same, but i'm concerned by the lack of rain........ 80's isnt much help without the water, will just dry up what little moisture there is available :(
I would bet that the Tulip Poplars open up in the next few days.
Let's hope the TPs open up soon! I've got a bunch of mediums supers with foundation ready to stack on the hives!
The weird thing about the tulip poplars is that I saw blossoms on the ground when I was in town (Chapel Hill) 2 weeks ago, but the ones where I am (in the country) are still tight buds -- at least the ones I can see on the lower branches. I recently read that tulip poplars are capable of opening their blooms -- I think by individual tree -- at different times, depending on the weather, so that the effect on honey production never really suffers, as there will always be enough blooms at some point for honey bees.
I have a friend who is a landscape designer and she recently ticked off the names of several plants whose bloom times have been odd this year -- either earlier or later than normal. Good news is we've had lots of rain, and the plants I have seen blooming are booming.
Eri,
Perhaps the blossoms on the ground were the result of a 34 degree temps we saw about two weeks ago. I saw some buds on the ground yesterday that resulted from the winds that we experienced. This is really not unusual though. I have seen some buds on the ground in years past.
Opened blossom petals, not buds. But it's often warmer by a few degrees in town (pavement, buildings, car emissions) so I wasn't all that surprised ;) 88/58 the next several days -- woohoo! The chicks can move off the back porch into the chicken coop, the bees can feast, and I can transplant the tomatoes!
P.S. Just went out to fill the feeders and got nailed on the chin, first sting of the season :-D
Hello i am in Virginia and around here i see alot of wild cherry trees in full bloom my girls have been going at it like gangbusters today and the bottom boards are yellow from the pollen they are bringing in. I have some weak hives that i thought would not make it but they have brood and stores the wild black berries are ready to bloom soon so i have two hives that are moving up into the supers but one of them has brood in it so i put a empty super in between the brood chamber and the super with brood in it hoping they will fill it out in a few days. Also destroyed some queen cells to prevent them from swarming i would like a good crop of honey again this year.
Thomas