Well, both hives made it! :-D I did have to start feeding, though. Fortunately, March came in like the proverbial lamb instead of the lion! My question is this; the maples are starting to bloom. Do the bees get nectar or pollen from them or do they wait for the willows and dandelions to bloom?
I live in Northern New Jersey and patiently waiting for the red maple to pop! I have been doing walks surveying the areas for any bloom! None yet...! I fed each of my hive a little sugar water mixed with honey once a week just in case. I will do the same today!
-Rodni
We're in Rockland County, NY. The trees are ready to burst open here any day. I did see some of the bees returning with pollen the last few days. Not a lot, but enough to give me hope! We have fed them bee tea this past week. I'll check today and see if they have taken it all. Want to make sure they have enough before the rain moves in this weekend.
They get lots of pollen from the maples, and sugar from the sap, if the tree is bleeding. Not sure about the nectar.
Quote from: iddee on March 11, 2010, 10:38:21 AM
They get lots of pollen from the maples, and sugar from the sap, if the tree is bleeding. Not sure about the nectar.
It has been said that if it were warm enough, and colonies were at full strength, maple would likely be the biggest flow of the year. I am guessing that the nectar secreted by the flowers has much greater sugar content then the sap. Sap only has a sugar content of 2 to 4 percent.
I have found "American honey plants" to be of great value at google books. You can read the whole book on google for free. It makes reference to just about any nectar source your could think of.
Cool! Thanks for all the info! :-D
Just for fun I tapped 20 maples for sap. Boiled 15 gallons to get 2 pints syrup @ 66 brix. I will be watching the tap holes for bee's to see if they will feed on them. Anything extra this time of year.
Dennis
Here (WA) Big Leaf Maple can be a major nectar source IF the bees can fly. For me it is too early and the clusters are too small, but I have met beekeepers in OR who make a spring crop of it some years.
They just began pop here too some trees are 'flowering' most should be within about 3 days.
Silver Maples started to bloom about 2 weeks ago, here in CO, and are peaking right now. Our foragers are coming back with pollen, but not all of them. I'd say 50/50. Before the bloom, it appeared they were getting sap, so even if they're not getting nectar, they have something sweet to drink.
Quote from: bbhb on March 15, 2010, 06:27:04 PM
Silver Maples started to bloom about 2 weeks ago, here in CO, and are peaking right now. Our foragers are coming back with pollen, but not all of them. I'd say 50/50. Before the bloom, it appeared they were getting sap, so even if they're not getting nectar, they have something sweet to drink.
Thats great to hear we are going on a walk today to see whats blooming out there in Denver I cant wait till its full on spring. Its suppost to be in the 50's all week with wed. getting up to the 60's so I will dive into my colonys that day. I am SO excited!!
Wild plum out here in the Ft Worth Texas area. Things will pop realy quick now. Lotsa polen,white, yelloy and orange comming in. Should bee a good year for the bees.
gardeningfireman
bees wait for no man!
Rodni73
now the 16th,.. no maple pop. bees bring in three colors.
bee-nuts
"It has been said that if it were warm enough, and colonies were at full strength, maple would likely be the biggest flow of the year. " I don't doubt it... said by whom?
dennis a
How long did you boil? What system?
Quote from: DBoire on March 16, 2010, 07:12:56 PM
gardeningfireman
bees wait for no man!
Rodni73
now the 16th,.. no maple pop. bees bring in three colors.
bee-nuts
"It has been said that if it were warm enough, and colonies were at full strength, maple would likely be the biggest flow of the year. " I don't doubt it... said by whom?
dennis a
How long did you boil? What system?
Im not sure, I remember reading it but now of course I will have to try to find where I read this.
Our maples popped out a day or three ago. They've been packing it away, temps in the 50s +. Today was at least 60 so I opened one of the hives briefly, and in only 2 days they had collected at least (I only looked at a few) 2 or 3 frames full of pollen! Busy busy!! The maple trees that open the soonest were literally buzzing, my wife and kids thought there was a swarm out there (way to early for that) !!!
I am not going to search endlessly for the source of my statement but I think it may have been abc and xyz of beekeeping. Either way I know I have read it. Werther it would be true or not I dont care. What I do know is my bees came out of winter quite well and were gathering pollen as soon it was warm enough for them to make foraging flights. I dont know what the source was but the proof is in the pudding.
Wisconsin honeybees bringing in pollen on March 15th.wmv (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pLpxH0ejzA#ws)
Just trying the first time syrup. Boiled for 16 hours in a turkey cooker and another 2 in the house. Just added sap every hour or so as it reduced.
Dennis
Quote from: dennis a on March 15, 2010, 11:47:08 AM
Just for fun I tapped 20 maples for sap. Boiled 15 gallons to get 2 pints syrup @ 66 brix. I will be watching the tap holes for bee's to see if they will feed on them. Anything extra this time of year.
Dennis
We tap 10 maples in our backwoods. I haven't seen it yet, but hubby says the bees are waiting in line at the tap to suck down maple sap! I'll be collecting sap tonight and hope to get to see this sight :) I'm thinking maple honey would be extraordinary!
QuoteIt has been said that if it were warm enough, and colonies were at full strength, maple would likely be the biggest flow of the year.
I don't know about the biggest flow of the year, at least in my area, but you can get honey. It is very hard to come by though. I was able to harvest about 2 supers of maple honey 2 or 3 years ago. It's kind of green tinted but it has an amazing taste. The weather has to be just right. You can't be screwing around with artificial feed during that time either. A lot of what they bring in will go to brood rearing so it very well may be a very large flow as suggested.