Pollen and drones in december whats going on

[tom]

Howdy ALL

  I know i am not the only one seeing this but what is it with the pollen and drones in december. I was looikng at my girls today and they all were out busy then i notice in hive three and two they were coming in with large amounts of pollen al different colors. Now if they are doing this it can mean only one thing they are brood rearing and we have three months to go and they are only calling for more rain and warm temps. I also saw a drone flyinbg around hive two and here it is the winter time now i know some feral hives may keep a few but i only saw this one what is going on with the weather i know it has been funny here but if my girls are getting pollen from somewhere then that means they have brood. Hive 3 was bringing in the biggest amount out of the 3 hives i got is anyone one else seing this going on in thier yard.


Tom

[Brian D. Bray]

There is almost always a source of pollen, year around, even in the winter.  The weather has been very wierd this year.  My Crocus has blossemed spring and fall and the Daffodils and Tulips seem to be headed for another early bloom as well.  The Crocus are coming up for the 3rd time in 13 months. 
The danger of warm temps in the winter is more flight time, greater activity within the hive meaning a higher consumption rate of stores.  This means early spring feeding.  So get ready to feed in about 2-3 weeks if you're experiencing conditions like Tom describes.

[tom]

Hello

  Yuor right Mr. Bray the weather is so weird and my girls are more interested in searching for pollen and the one that had the mite problemn is the one that is hauking it in as well as hive #2 but now it is raining and we still have two more months to go. They seem to be well but i am worried that they may be rearing brood the last time i checked them hive #2 was rearing brood with only five frames of honey capped and hive six had only six frames filled with only a small amount of brood.And one is doing well they all have stopped taking food so i am guessing they have enough stores and Merry Christmas Mr. Bray and the rest of you guy's and ladies.

Tom

[Scott Derrick]

Hi everyone,

Yeah I noticed my coming in and out a ton today as well. Loads of pollen. It was wild. I even saw bits that they dropped at the entrance. They wern't just loaded with a little pollen it was a bunch. I'll see if I can't get some good photos. I popped the lids and still had plenty of honey left in the top super. I did put some feed on them today for the first time of the season.

Scott

[Cindi]

I need to get this one STRAIGHT.  If you see pollen being brought in, this means they are definitely raising brood?

I was of the assumption that bees, even though they are not raising brood, still bring in the pollen regardless, they know that they will eventually need it.  They store it.

So my question is:  everyone assumes that brood rearing is going full ahead because they see pollen coming in.  Is this a 100% assurance that the brood is being raised when this is seen?

I also understand that it is imperative that the bees eat pollen for their protein, without pollen the hypopharengeal glands cannot secrete royal jelly and then of course, they do not have royal jelly to feed the  larvae.

Can these questions be totally clarified for my peace of mind.  Great day. Cindi

[Brian D. Bray]

Pollen gathering is not a 100% indication that brood rearing is going on but it's a very good indicator.
Bees will gather pollen out of instinct when the temperature allow foraging even if there is no source of nectar.  The pollen will be used later for brood production if not at the moment.  Even in the dead of winter a certain amount of brood rearing is usually maintained.  Often is an area no larger than a silver dollar.  If the bees have ample pollen stores from winter forage then they can build up faster as the  weather begins to warm up.  Feeding in February will assist in this, giving them a "nectar" source to complement the pollen. 

[Cindi]

Brian,
Giving the bees a "nectar source" implies a watery, sweet liquid.  So that would be the reason behind the 1:1 sugar syrup in spring for the spring build-up, correct?

Honey within the hive is not considered "nectar source" due to the thickness of the liquid and does not stimulate brood rearing, it is only "nectar" (and pollen) that stimulates?  Great day. Cindi

[Brian D. Bray]

Good grasp of fact Cindi.

[Cindi]

Brian, always trying to summarize and remember.  Great day.  Cindi