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Date: | Fri, 7 Mar 2014 23:14:39 -0000 |
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Following on from the winter losses discussion, I have to ask whether wet
winter weather is really a problem for our bees.
The traditional answer would be ‘yes’, but here in the UK we are just
emerging from the wettest winter ever recorded. Today I visited around 20
apiaries, some of which required a walk through deep mud where I did not
dare risk driving my Land Rover – it is that bad. I found that most
colonies look in very good shape – flying strongly and bringing in plenty of
pollen. There was just one dead colony, so ‘winter losses’ are currently <
1%. Seems to me that the winter weather is not that important; what really
counts is the preceding summer and autumn.
It now looks as though we are going to have a very early spring. The winter
has been very mild with very little frost. Oilseed rape is full of buds and
is starting to move; there are already quite a number of flowers and I would
expect it to be in full flower in early April at this rate – but, of course,
anything could happen before then!
Best wishes
Peter
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W
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