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Which flowers

Started by pipbob, April 27, 2015, 21:08:03 PM

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syd

Seasons Greetings,
With all the late summer rains we had, the Almond trees are just starting to flower which is almost two weeks early, we also have a an awesome display of Aonium flowers and the bees are all over them when the sun warms the flowers , Honey has been in short supply this summer but I did manage to catch a swarm which came out of one of our hives.


syd

Greetings,
              The Bee eaters have landed, we heard them in llanos del peral this morning, just in time for the swarming season .


syd

Seasons greetings,
Spotted the first almond blossom yesterday which is about a week later than usual, with all this warm weather our bees are looking in really good shape, this time last year with all the cold and rainy weather we very nearly lost a hive, the bees were so weak we spent over three weeks supplying them with syrup, happy to report that they made a full recovery so much so that all three hives swarmed whilst we were away on our jollies, we also managed to harvest ten kilos of honey which for our bees is a record amount .

syd

Greetings,
Up in Albanchez last week and there was a Mimosa tree in full pomp, good for the honey bees and the bumble bees, its just after 10.30 and it is too cold for our bees to fly, all the Almond trees are in flower  we just need a little bit of warmth, by the way our Fresias are just starting to bud.


bigtallgeezer

Greetings,

Les and Pat up at Las Labores here where you did our pines over the pond. A few more flowers open on that large Mimosa and no bees seen on it even yesterday when they were very active in the extra heat. My 3 large rosemary bushes were covered in them!!

:great:
Before you judge someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you judge them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.


syd

Greetings,
What a difference a sunny day makes, lots and lots of our bees have been busy on the almond blossom which has just started to come into bloom they were also busy with the gazinias, and a massive old Rosemary in Locaiba was heaving with bees, it would seem that we are to get more rain on Friday which in turn will help the mountain flowers to bloom, it would be nice to get some surplus honey this year, I had a go at making beeswax candles last week ! they burned OK but my better half suggested the shape was rather rude, the photos would back up this claim !!

syd

Greetings,
Spring must be just around the corner, whilst working in Mojacar today we saw a big Almond tree in full bloom and the bees were having a ball, they were also busy on the Japanese honeysuckle.


ginger

Plenty of bee activity today on our roses, especially the white ones.


syd

Greetings,
For the last three days our bees have been cooped up in their hives due to the cold wet days, today however all three hives have been very active, there are a few Gazinias coming into flower and the bees are taking the orange coloured pollen, most of the bees were working the Aptenia for the nectar.

syd

Greetings,
We have some very hungry bees here at pottyfinca, so much so I have had to buy a block of bee fondant to help the bees until the rains arrive,
this time last year each hive had five frames of eggs and larvae, this year they barely cover one frame hence the feeding
anyone have anything to report ?


syd

Greetings,
there are two big eucalyptus trees within easy flying distance of our bees  and they are covered with flowers, unfortunately this year the trees are not producing any nectar and as a result the bees are not interested , just one of those strange quirks of nature,
any one out there with bees on eucalyptus blossom ?

syd

Greetings Lemurama,
Sorry about the delay, regarding your question about swarms,
Do you have any experience with beekeeping ? the laws are different here  meaning any hive must be at least twenty five meters away from the nearest neighbours,
Our bees are busy on our neighbours pumpkin field taking pollen and the wild blackberries,

lemurama

I would like to get a hive or two in our garden, but have no idea where to get a swarm from ?
Please message me at info@almeriahomes.com

Thanks
muffin

syd

Greetings,
April been and gone !
Our bees are busy on the Honeysuckle which is growing at an alarming pace towards our front door, the Pollen baskets on their back legs are brim full of pollen they are also working the Bird of paradise tree and the Borage plant which by now resembles a Triffid is still being mobbed from first light until dusk,
The nucleos hive has made such good progress that I have transferred them into a full sized hive, we now have three working hives.

syd

Greetings,
where did March disappear to ?
had a quick peek at the hives this afternoon its still a tad cool to be opening them up and looking inside but the nucleos hive was active with workers returning with mostly nectar and a few loaded with pollen, the latter being a good indicator that there are eggs and larvae in the hive,
When the cool winds have gone to pester somebody else I will be able to do a proper inspection,
The bottle brush trees are in full bloom and the false peppers are budding up so our bees should be well catered for .

syd

Greetings,
lots of bees working the orange blossom in los menchones yesterday,
We have a beehive which was bursting with bees and at this time of year there is always the possibility of overcrowding leading to swarming so I took four frames containing eggs and larvae along with lots of young bees and put them in a purpose built nucleos hive and left them to it for eight days, by which time the bees had selected a couple of very young larvae and fed them exclusively on royal jelly and the result is two capped queen cells which should emerge in about eight days time, then fingers crossed she will mate with the drones and settle down and start to lay eggs which will be the start of a new colony,

syd

Greetings,
awesome weather for beekeeping, everywhere the bees are hard at work, we have a Borage plant which has grown into a small bush and it is covered with bees collecting nectar, if you have a spare plot of bare land which needs filling this plant does quite well on medium quality soil and the seeds germinate readily,
Beekeepers in the UK  reckon the honey produced from borage flowers is one of the finest flavours of all the honeys..

syd

The fresias are in full bloom and the scent of them on a sunny day is a wonder to behold, oh ! and the bees love them its fun to watch them disappear inside the flower whilst taking the nectar ,
anyone else with anything to report ??

syd

Greetings,
Just had three weeks in the uk and not a bee in sight, got back this afternoon and the bees were working most of the flowers round our house, if the warm weather continues into the weekend I should be able to take a peek into the hives,

syd

Greetings,
We have some very happy bees with this unseasonably warm weather, The almond blossom is coming into full swing and will be in flower for the next two months, after that we will have the citrus blossom,
managed to get two jars of honey from our hives last week, and at the end of this month we are increasing our hive count to four hives, a drop of rain would be helpful for the summer flowers.

syd

Greetings again,
how wrong am I , we have just got back from limaria and even in this drizzle there were bees working the heather plants and the callistemon,
at home our bees are out on the almond blossom, interestingly there were twice as many bees on the pink almond flowers than on the white ones.

syd

Greetings,
We have much needed rain at the moment, and I would suspect that our bees are tucked up in their hives keeping warm and dry,

syd

Christmas greetings,
A lot cooler this morning, it was ten oclock this morning before the bees started to venture out onto our lavender and gazinias .
stay warm and stay safe, and don't forget to check on your elderly neighbours Xxx

cgmaywood

Our bush us still full of flowers and bees

Chrissy

trishtrosh

We've just put some tinned pears on the bird table and its attracted hundreds of bees!

Jimel

I saw hundreds of bees on a Nispero fruit tree this morning,I believe they start to blossom from Oct.

syd

Greetings,
Aonium Arboreum ,
check this one out on google. our bees are mobbing it at the moment,

cgmaywood

No not the pink one, ours has loads of orange flowers and loads of bees. Our next door neighbour has the pink one again with loads of bees.

If you look closely you can see the pollen on their legs, fascinating

Chrissy

syd

Greetings,
Whilst out with the dog yesterday we came across an almond tree which was in flower ! its at least a month early but the bee will love never the less,

Jimel

Yes, that's the one Syd, a pain in the neck to prune,but have left it for now because the bees love it!

syd

Greetings Jimel,
the pink flowering climber sounds to me like a Bignonia, try having a dekko on google and see what comes up,

Jimel

Quote from: cgmaywood on November 20, 2015, 10:36:38 AM
Had an interesting conversation with john this morning about bees. I had asked him to prune my cape honeysuckle but he pointed out to me the amount of bees that were taking pollen and nectar.

How fascinating watching them, had not noticed them before.

Watching with interest now.

Chrissy

Is that the pink flowering  climber? Loads of bees on ours,but not sure what it's called,it seems very common here,and grows like mad.

cgmaywood

Had an interesting conversation with john this morning about bees. I had asked him to prune my cape honeysuckle but he pointed out to me the amount of bees that were taking pollen and nectar.

How fascinating watching them, had not noticed them before.

Watching with interest now.

Chrissy

syd

Greetings,
In Carrascos this afternoon the bees were mobbing an overgrown Japanese Honeysuckle, at home our bees are on the aptenia and the false pepper tree next door and a few working the lavanders, with all this good rain we should actually get a few jars of honey this year.

syd

Greetings,
working in los carascos recently there were bees going mad for the pollen on the palm tree flowers, and after the big rains there are wild flowers coming into flower which we don't normally see until the new year,which should be good for honey production,