It’s been in the mid 40′s and still below the average for this time of year for several days and we even received a light dusting of snow last night. Still the bees have been active almost every day when it’s sunny and breaks 40 degrees. I’m actually rather surprised by how active they are given the temperature. While my father reported the bees at his house have been working the early blooming bulbs, there is not yet any significant pollen source for them to work and they continue to fee on the open fed pollen.
The weather forecast predicts this week will warm up some, but won’t get above 50 until next Monday. The buds on the maple trees are swelling and it will only take a couple good days for them to really open up. A few in my yard have just started to open, but aren’t yet producing pollen. These unspectacular buds could easily be missed by most people but are typically the first good pollen source in the spring and there is nothing quite like walking under a maple tree in late March and listening to it literally humming with busy bees. The maples do seem to be running a week or so behind previous years and it still could be a bit longer before they really bloom if it stays cool.
