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Author Topic: How long is the season  (Read 4857 times)

Offline TJ

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How long is the season
« on: September 21, 2004, 01:13:45 pm »
I was wondering excactly when the bee season ends. It's already getting cold at night here in Ithaca NewYork, but I still see zillions of bees returning to my hives in the early evening. Will they keep foraging until all nectar producing flowers are dead or do they stop when there are freezing temperatures at night?

Offline Finman

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Re: How long is the season
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2004, 01:52:00 pm »
Quote from: TJ
I was wondering excactly when the bee season ends. It's already getting cold at night here in Ithaca NewYork, but I still see zillions of bees returning to my hives in the early evening. Will they keep foraging until all nectar producing flowers are dead or do they stop when there are freezing temperatures at night?


In Finland -6C is dedly temperature for flowers. Pollen will freeze and will be spoiled.

Old queens stop they egg laying earlier than new ones. Correctly saying, queen lays eggs but bees do not feed larvas.

New queens lay eggs guite late. When bees have larvas they are earger to gather pollen.

Nectar stops much more earlier than pollen.

Actually our bee summer stopped over 1 month ago, about 15.8. Many stopped larva raising and others not. It depends if flowers are near. If flowers are over 1 km distance, behind corn fields, bee autumn comes early.

Offline leominsterbeeman

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How long is the season
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2004, 06:19:24 pm »
From what I've seen, if it's below 52 degrees F.  They don't fly.
Michael Keane
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Offline Finman

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How long is the season
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2004, 10:59:47 am »
Quote from: leominsterbeeman
From what I've seen, if it's below 52 degrees F.  They don't fly.


That is true. It is 12 Celsius. http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm

At sping, when it is full sun shine, they can fly +5 C = 41 F at near the ground. When it comes clouds, they drop to ground. Those who drop into shade, they will die. That is why half of colony can die during one week at April in Finland.

Total cold and cloudy is good, because bees do not go out.

At summer during rainy week colony raise 20% bigger than in good week when they fly and part of them die every day.

At autumn system is another. When flower summer stops, field bees search for food. They fly and colony will be reduced  60-70%.

5-6 box colony will go in one box after a month.

 
You possibly know that bee's wing muscles must have the temperature 25C =77F when bee is able to fly.

Offline TJ

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How long is the season
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2004, 01:21:28 pm »
Finman, you say the bees muscles must have 77F to fly, but they can fly if it is as low as 41F. I'm confused. Unless you are implying that the bees can warm their muscles up to 77 when the air is much colder.  

I have noticed in the spring that some days warm up to flying temperatures, but cool down quickly and lots of foragers don't make it back to the hive in time. Dead and dying bees can be found just outside the hive in the evening. If you pick up these bees, many looking quite gone, and warm them in your hands or in your house (inside an old package crate) you will be amazed at how many perk right up and start flying around looking for their hive. It's like bringing the dead back to life. A good cheap thrill. Try it some time.

Offline Finman

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How long is the season
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2004, 05:54:31 pm »
Quote from: tj
Finman, you say the bees muscles must have 77F to fly, but they can fly if it is as low as 41F. I'm confused. Unless you are implying that the bees can warm their muscles up to 77 when the air is much colder.  

.


If you take done between fingers, you feel how warm they are. If you enclose ten drones in your palm, you wonder how they heat your hand.

Offline golfpsycho

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How long is the season
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2004, 11:52:04 pm »
There are no exacts in beekeeping.   Most things are weather dependent, and just to add a twist, different colonies behave differently.  Some bees fly in colder weather than others.  Some bees fly closer to dark than others, and some start with less light in the morning than others.  Some will sting with mild provocation, others not until thoroughly disturbed.  Some make lots of honey, some don't.  Some make lots of wax, others you have to wonder what they were thinking.  Some swarm over and over, and others don't

What exactly was the question?

Offline Finman

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How long is the season
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2004, 02:36:51 am »
Quote from: golfpsycho

What exactly was the question?



I thought that one question is, is there difference between air temperature and muscle temperature ob insects. Answer is: didderences are and it is normal.

When moth is goig to fly it "run" its muscles first warm. Wasp can fly at the temperature +4C and water is raining. Bees "run" they muscles warm and after that they are capable to fly.

Many insect have hairs, which hints cooling of muscles.  http://www.oi.phkk.fi/beeman/kuvia/kimalain.gif

Hairs  slow down the fly of bees, but hairs are useful because they keep muscles warmer.

Offline Finman

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How long is the season
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2004, 02:48:48 am »
Quote from: golfpsycho

What exactly was the question?



Question was, when season ends. In Finland I know on an average, when it starts and when it ends. Difference can be  + 3 week and -2 week. It means difference over one month. In 4 summer month is is big difference.

Sometimes all honey has come to hives before 15.7. and another summer it starts after that.

In Finland bee summer starts 1.5. and it is over about 10.8. After 10.8. you can take all honey away.  Earliest start is 15.4. and that has happen a couple of times during my bee keeping 40 years.

The honey, we take away, comes to hives during 28.6.-10.8. It is 6 weeks.

1.5. willows starts blooming and it explode the brooding.  It takes over one 6-7 months that bees  starts to collect honey and pollen. So we are in the middle of June.

Willow starts blooming when soil frost is started to melt. Our soil is frosen from 0,5 meter to 1,5 metre. We have 40 willow species in the botany book.

I can say, that season is very steady in some meaning. At least we must do actions, that they match in every year.

After 40 years beekeeping is mostly boring. I must find something new that I am inpired in bee keeping.

My 17 years old son got bee suit and so we see, what he likes about bee business.