First Pollen of 2016

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I post this for my own records. I saw some of my bees with a sprinkle of yellow pollen on their legs yesterday and today I managed to snap off this blurry photo of a honey bee with what I’d call a good load of pollen.

First pollen of the year in Flatrock, Newfoundland, and it's yellow. (April 17, 2016.)

First pollen of the year in Flatrock, Newfoundland, and it’s yellow. (April 17, 2016.)

It seems too early for dandelions or any other naturally yellow flower, so I’m guessing someone has some crocuses planted nearby. Good enough. Spring in Newfoundland hasn’t quite sprung yet, but we’re getting there.

First pollen on the year. Bee resting on old sugar cake. (April 17, 2016.)

First pollen on the year. Bee resting on old sugar cake. (April 17, 2016.)

The pollen could also bee from coltsfoot, a.k.a. Tussilago, though I haven’t seen any around. It could pollen from pussy willows too. I’ll have to look around when I have a chance.

April 24th, 2016: A week later the bees were bringing in more of the same pollen.

Seeing how there was snow on the ground, my guess is the pollen had to come from a bush or tree, not a ground level plant like crocuses.

5 thoughts on “First Pollen of 2016”

  2. I am concerned with your photo of the bee with pollen on the sugar brick you’re holding. It looks like there’s a mite on the body of the bee, hope I’m wrong.

    • If that was a Varroa mite, I’d have burn my hives.

      I’m pretty sure it’s not, though. It looks like the spot where the wing connects to the bee, not sure what that spot is called.

      • look at the amber color shiny oval spot on the abdomen between the first and second stripe. By the way, you don’t burn a hive because of mites. It’s just another thing to deal with in the wonderful world of beekeeping.

  3. We burn hives in Newfoundland because the island has never had varroa mites or most other honey bee ailments found in the rest of North America and most of the world, and the best way to contain varroa, if ever found, is to destroy the bees and burn the hive and pretty much every hive the varroa may have come in contact with. I’m pretty sure that’s the policy that’s on the books. If I found varroa in any of my hives, I’d burn my whole beeyard down. I’d be sad to do it, but it’s the best way to contain the varroa. It may seem extreme, but considering that Newfoundland has possibly the most disease-free honey bees on the planet, and our bees have never been exposed to varroa, any exposure or spread of varroa on the island would destroy the population. If varroa was found in someone’s beeyard, I’m certain every beekeeper on the island would show up with can of gasoline and a match to make sure every spec of it was burned to a crisp.

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