Hi Everyone :)
We had a few days of flying here with temps in the low 50s and both C1 and C2 were very active.
My wife has a tray of mixed nuts on our front porch for the squarrels and birds, but the bees were going wild for them.
I couldn't really see any pollen on anything, surely there was now nectar and the tray was not water soaked, so it wasn't a water source either. It just seemed like a strange place for honeybees it congrate.
I even looked for any signs of pollen packing and didn't see any, I assume the smell or color spectrum must have enticed them, but once the landed, they stayed for a few minutes each.
It was interesting behavor, I don't think there was any salted nuts, but there were peanuts, pine nuts and sunflower. Let me know what attracts them to these if you know.
PS.... All is fine here as we near the second month of the new year - wow, January is flying by. The hives are still heavy with honey and I think if we have a milder February this year (than last) we should have not problems making it through the Winter - again, it's usually WINDS that burn the most fuel from a hive NOT temperature, so a great wind break is a valuable tool in extending your food supplies in the hive.
If you look in one of the spring issues of ABJ 2004 ( I think February or January) one of the articles by Dr. Wyatt A. Mangum he mentions an experience where in a dearth of pollen bees would collect anything "pollen-like" ranging from the dust of bird seeds to fine sawdust.
my bees are hitting the coffee grounds in the compost pile. gguess they need a caffeine fix
In the summer we find bees collecting corn dust from the dryer.
I think your assumption is correct, the odour from the nuts oil is probably attracting them. Peanuts, pinenuts and sunflower are all oily nuts. The oil will contain sugars and other substances and they are either getting a little sugar or ingredients for propopalis although it is a small amount. They would stay for a short time then give up and go looking for another source. which fits in with what you say "Once landed, they stayed for a few minutes each". I would not think they were collecting the chaff or dust of the nuts, as you say, you did not see any pollen packing activity.
Thats my thoughts anyway, it will be interesting to see what others think.