In a message dated 29/06/2004 05:01:58 GMT Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> All had
> several frames of food left - but it was solid.  I believe my problem is
> simply that the warmer climate resulted in bees collecting late honey from
> new sources, particularly ivy which sets like concrete

I lost only one last winter and most of the others came through very strongly
with lots of surplus stores of ivy.  Bees have been using ivy in Northern
Europe for thousands of years.  Just from the evolutionary point of view it seems
unlikely that a plant that flowers late when there are fewer pollinating
insects around will produce a nectar that is detrimental to the major pollinator.
Perhaps we have introduced strains of bee from areas where ivy hasn't been so
common and they are the ones that find it difficult to cope with.

Does anybody running Amm colonies in N.Europe have this problem?

Chris

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