It’s finally Spring as far as the bees are concerned! Typically, maples are among the first things to bloom…usually in March sometime. When the maple blooms pop, I usually sigh a sigh of relief. There are no guarantees with honeybees, but once the maples bloom, bees generally can find sufficient pollen and nectar to start their spring build up and ultimately, survive.
This weekend I peeked in on the colonies and saw lots of activity! Maple pollen is a sort of greenish, grayish color and it was what I expected to see. Instead, I saw tons of bright yellow pollen! I have no idea what pollen source the bees had found but I suppose we might as well call it daffodil pollen…it was the right color and daffodils are my favorite flowers ever. Does anything smell better than a daffodil bloom in spring? No, I think not.
As I often do, I sat in front of the hives and watched the bees come and go. Spring is a wonderful time for bees…they are so focused on chasing blooms and nectar and pollen that they hardly even notice my presence. I love the opportunity to just sit and listen to their buzz and watch as they weave and bumble into the hive entrance, loaded with pollen. In addition to the pollen baskets on their legs, the honeybees seemed to be completely covered in pollen, head to stinger. I love spring in the apiary (and everywhere else too) and I can’t wait to taste this year’s honey crop! Yeah yellow pollen!