# General beekeeping > Bee blether >  Colony is alive!

## POPZ

Having read about everyone else's colonies flying already and bringing in pollen (especially those east coast boys) I have been wondering when my ladies were going to wake up, if indeed they would, to the fact that we are moving into another spring. 

Then, this morning I gave them some pollen substitute, just as a precaution. On going up for my usual midday inspection, was most suprised to see loads of the ladies flying with gay abandon. No idea why as it was a northerly wind and temp of 7/8C, not the best of days to come out and greet spring! AND some were returning with very decent loads of pollen.  

So now I am a very excited bunny - just get them through the next few weeks and bingo, hopefully it will be blast off time.

How are others faring??

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## Neils

Mine are out, flying and bringing in pollen as of last weekend although I've not been up personally (tomorrow!). They had a good slab of fondant a couple of weeks ago so should be ok on that front and I'm trying to resist the urge to start fiddling with them too early.

Out of the three colonies on the site mine appears to be the only one that's made it through winter. The little swarm we got last year superseded every queen throughout the summer and I feel it's antics might just have been a little beyond our ability to deal with it and it looks like they've paid the price as a result.  My colleagues hive is hanging on by a thread at the moment, but with apparently only a single seam of bees last weekend we're not too hopeful that it's going to do much of anything.

I was hoping to split from my colony this year anyway, but I'm going to try and get two viable queens if I can to save my friend having to buy in bees.

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## Trog

Mine were out and about, too, despite strong N wind and only 7 degrees.  Would love to post the video but don't know what the url of a video on my desktop is and that's what's being requested!

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## gavin

Uploading to a video hosting site should do it.  YouTube, but that will mean the whole world will find it easily (no bad thing perhaps).  You could also put it at places like Photobucket: http://photobucket.com/ 

It might also be possible to put it on the SBAi web space and link to it there.  If you wanted to try that then you'd need to email it to me.

G.

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## Jon

I made my first u tube upload last week and there is an option to set videos to private with a maximum of 25 viewings.

This colony was flying just before dusk but located considerably further south than Mull!
I intend to enter it in the worlds tallest colony contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MqgxBVeaqE

We have a forecast for 9c tomorrow so my colonies should be active

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## POPZ

> I made my first u tube upload last week and there is an option to set videos to private with a maximum of 25 viewings.
> 
> This colony was flying just before dusk but located considerably further south than Mull!
> I intend to enter it in the worlds tallest colony contest.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MqgxBVeaqE
> 
> We have a forecast for 9c tomorrow so my colonies should be active


That is so cool Jon - and I did not realise that Belfast had moved so far south!? 
POPZ

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## gavin

He's our Mexican as well as Ulster correspondent (with the aunt who married a man with a Scottish sounding name).  I was going to post a picture of a colony in a rowan tree as competition for Jon's longest colony in the world competition, but it may be some time before I can find it.

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## Jon

> I was going to post a picture of a colony in a rowan tree as competition for Jon's longest colony in the world competition, but it may be some time before I can find it.


It can't be that hard to find a Rowan tree! They are generally quite static.

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## gavin

Very drole!  It is in a secret location in Secretshire, somewhere in the middle of Scotland ... and probably yielded up the swarm recovered from the chimney of a big house by a friend as seen in a series of pictures on another forum some months ago.

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## Jon

So is agent X, aka John Mc C not signed up here yet?

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## gavin

Who can tell with all those mysterious user names around!  (I reckon that he's unusually busy at the moment and may be along later)

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## Neils

Just taken a sneak peak.  I think rumours of the demise of the swarm might be premature but I've not taken a peek inside.

I did suit up and take a very quick look inside mine, bonfires burning nearby do not constitute smoking the hive, when will I learn to do something properly or not at all?

But Bees across six seams and plenty of fondant to play with. They were out flying this afternoon but didn't see them bringing any pollen.

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## beeanne

Mine were out in full force on the weekend, working the snowdrops enthusiastically - not much else around for them. Willow not even thinking about it yet, either.
Out of interst, do snowdrops give nectar or only pollen?

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## gavin

Hi Anne

They get a smidgen (technical term) of nectar as well as that nice yellow-orange pollen from snowdrop.

There is one site - close to our planned association apiary - which I drive past on a regular basis which has willow showing silvery catkins for a few weeks now.  It is usually the first locally to open fully.

best wishes

Gavin

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## Trog

Wish it was  possible to post photos/videos direct, rather than having to go through another website (if I understand correctly?); I could add a lovely photo of one of my lot on the most sweetly-scented snowdrops I've ever encountered.

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## gavin

Photos get lodged on the SBAi site.  Just use that 'Insert Image' icon above the Reply box and you can upload (to the SBAi web server) from your computer.  Videos are different in that you can't upload them, and need to put them somewhere on the web first.

G.

PS  Lovely blog the other day.  Did the talk go well?

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## Trog

Well I clicked the insert image and it asked for the url of the image.  Haven't a clue where to find that as the photo's somewhere on my computer.  Told you I was a Trog-luddite!

The talk was fun - at least I enjoyed it and think the audience did.  I'll know for sure if they invite me back next year!

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## gavin

Hi Trog (not-luddite)

Your are in a Reply box ... just above is that Insert Image thing.  Click it.  Up pops a box which has two tabs above it, From Computer and From Internet.  Choose the former.  'Add an image from your computer' it says.  At the foot you have a 'Select files' box.  Click it.  You are now given a 'Browse' box to take you to the image file on your computer.  Click 'Open', find the picture file, then you are back to a previous screen which allows you to 'Upload files'. 

easy!

Gavin

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## Trog

Nope!  All I get is one box, no tabs, and asking me for url.  Maybe you get a different box 'cos you're admin?  Anyway I decided to try using the 'go advanced' button and attachment, and that has allowed me to do this:
DSCN0080..jpg

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## Neils

The default quick reply option has limited controls available, if you're trying to do something more advanced than just take the mickey out of Gavin then it's best to "Go Advanced" to get the full formatting options available to you.

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## Trog

Nellie, I'd never dream of extracting the michael from Gavin ... or anyone else for that matter.  I'm just very inexperienced with this format of forum and having to ask for advice.

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## gavin

> Nellie, I'd never dream of extracting the michael from Gavin ...


Should you ever change your mind, just go ahead!  I don't mind ... and I don't think Nellie really meant it like that.

Strange that some should see the icons and some should not.  But this is strange software.

That was a lovely bee on those snowdrops.  I so rarely see any on them, but there are rather a lot of snowdrops around my favourite bee estate and not that many bees out flying.

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## Neils

I didn't, I was being silly.  The standard reply option is generally fine if you just want to write a reply like this one or stick a single picture or link into the post. If you want the full formatting options to do more fun and funky stuff then clicking "go advanced" makes life a little easier.
And everyone should take the mickey out of Gavin from time to time, he's the admin, it's the law  :Wink:

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## Jon

> And everyone should take the mickey out of Gavin from time to time, he's the admin, it's the law


Amen to that. if you can't stand the heat...!

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## Jon

> I made my first u tube upload last week and there is an option to set videos to private with a maximum of 25 viewings.
> 
> This colony was flying just before dusk but located considerably further south than Mull!
> I intend to enter it in the worlds tallest colony contest.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MqgxBVeaqE


For anyone interested, this colony is still going strong one year on.
I think it has been in continuous occupation rather than being reoccupied by a swarm.
It had a lucky escape in August as there were bricklayers working opposite and they blocked the entrance every day by inserting a stone. I took the stone out every morning when I went past.

I once watched a group of brickies at the bus stop amuse themselves by throwing stones at a hummingbird moving from flower to flower on a bush at the other side of the road.

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## POPZ

Good to see this thread rejuvenated, as it was started a year ago! Pity more good threads do not get the same treatment.

I have a query regarding the ladies flying at this time of the year. My little lovelies have been flying on the warmer/fine days 7degrees plus for a while now. But what puzzles me is that on any fine day at 4-5degrees, there is the odd one who pops out, has a look around,  a quick flight around then back home. A few minutes later another appears and does the same. This is true of all my three colonies.

I can't believe that just the odd one comes out to relieve themselves? and surely the odd one is not going to bring in enough water to help with fondant breakdown?

Any suggestions?

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## Jon

I like to put a source of water near my colonies.
One thing they seem to like is a piece of old crumpled up polythene held down by a stone. This collects water between the crinkles and when the sun comes out it heats the water up a bit. On sunny days in late winter or eary spring I see hundreds of bees on the polythene. If it doesn't rain you can fill it daily with the watering can.

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## POPZ

Jon, apologies as I obviuosly worded my last post incorrectly. What I meant to ask was 'why are individual bees flying spasmodically at these low temperatures - 4-5degrees'. Surley if conditions are ok for them why are they not flying in greater numbers? Or to put it another way, why are any flying at all?

Hope they not househunting for somewhere with better conditions for the future!!!!!
popz

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## Jon

You always get a few out defecating if the sun is out - even if it is only 3 - 4 degrees.
If they are collecting water you will find them in numbers at the source.
I saw the odd bee flying out of the hive when it was -6.
Old or sick bees will do the decent thing in the style of Captain Oates but if they are returning to the hive it is probably a call of nature or a short trip to remove debris or dead bees from the colony.

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