Saturday 27 February 2016

The Mismatch between Bees and Flowers in these Strange Seasons.....and News from the Lambing Shed.

On a frosty, sunny morning last week, I walked through the meadow where my beehives are kept to check all was well with them. After one of my hives was knocked over at the end of last year, I'm looking at the hives more often now. Luckily, both hives were still upright - and they also hadn't been attacked by green woodpeckers (the other worry at this time of year). When the ground is frozen, green woodpeckers will drill into a hive for an easy meal.

The Pussy Willow is about to flower - perfect for my bees
I watched the hives for a moment but, as expected, none of the bees were flying.  It was far too cold for them. Instead, the bees will be clustered together around the queen and they'll have sealed up their hive against the cold with propolis, a sticky substance (a sort of bee-glue) collected from tree buds. I've no intention of breaking that apart just to look more closely at the bees. I'll wait until warmer days.


The bees have been flying this winter when the weather has been mild. This has made me think about what they've been foraging on. Like everyone else, I've been noticing the early flowering of so many plants over recent weeks, such as snowdrops and daffodils in December and blackthorn in early January.  I was interested to read, then, the results from the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's New Year Plant Hunt 2016.  Between 1st and 4th January 850 plant lovers hunted across the country for wild plants in flower and they found an astonishing 612 species. Botanists would normally expect 20-30 types of wild plants in flower at this time of year.


So what does this mean for my bees? Well, it has to have an impact. If the plants my bees love in early spring have already finished flowering before the colony becomes truly active, the bees have less forage. But then my honeybees are managed, and so if food isn't coming into the hive, I'll feed them sugar paste or syrup and pollen patties to boost them up. The real problem must be for wild bees and other pollinators, especially those that have evolved to appear when certain flowers are in bloom.
Tawny mining bee - Philip Precey - Philip Precey
Tawny Mining Bee - emerges in April to forage on the fruit blossom (photo - The Wildlife Trusts, P Precey)
All this leads into the debate about climate change, of course - and the trends we're seeing.  A conclusion drawn from the BSBI survey, was that our understanding of when plants flower is out of date. I wonder if the next generation of botanists will have to start re-writing the books to identify new flowering times for our plants?  And perhaps we should expect to see daffodils at Christmas from now on.  Will it be holly and ivy and candles and....daffodils?

Still, there was no time to feel confused about the familiar signs of spring in the lambing shed (where the breeder of my Ryeland lambs has been working tirelessly delivering this year's flock).


Here, the lambs were being born more or less on time (although not always easily). When I turned up, there were already a handful of tiny, black, woolly bundles curled up in the straw (next to some very relieved looking mums). And more lambs were on the way. (Just to say, it was a little bit dark in the lambing shed, but I didn't want to use the flash on my camera in case I frightened the sheep).

This is a small flock - and those lambs that'll leave in the summer will also go to small flocks that are owned for interest, not profit. The lamb pictured in the last two photos is the latest addition to my own flock (he was just a few hours old when these were taken).




I'll be bringing him home in the summer, where he'll live out his long life as a gentle lawn mower.

32 comments:

  1. I am so glad you are not going to eat the lambs, they are beautiful, so cute. I had some spring flowers growing in my window boxes back in December but the recent frosts have killed them off and I doubt they will return :(. I hadn't thought about the effect on the bees xxx

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    1. Hello Fran. None of my animals ever get eaten here - they all live until they reach old age! The mild winter has certainly turned now, hasn't it? This east wind is freezing!

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  2. What a lucky little black lamb to come and live with you in peaceful contentment. He is a cute looking lamb and I hope he grows up to resemble his mum who is a fine looking sheep.
    With everything flowering so early I can understand the problems of insects, bees and butterflies, but often nature does have a way of adapting to things far better than we realise.

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    1. Hello Rosemary. I think you're right, if we left nature alone it would adapt very well. Bees have survived cycles of ice-ages and heatwaves for thousands of years. It was interesting to look at the conclusions from the survey; one impact on flowers has been their disappearance from the countryside and existence in sheltered town gardens instead - and how this shelter alters the flowering times.

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  3. Awwww. I love your new lamb. And lovely to think that he will have a peaceful and long life as nature intended.

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    1. Hello Jessica. I'm sure he will also be very spoilt!

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  4. Interesting post, I was looking back at the photos I took last February and we had a warm spell then heading into March were it was very warm, snow and cold would be back thought. Photo's I had saved were of many Spring plants which were much further on than they are now which surprised me. I know it's been a mild winter and wet, but very little sun.
    I hope your bee's will OK and wild ones too, it's finding high necter plants to put in the garden ready for the bees to feed.
    The lamb is so cute, look forward to watching it grow...
    Amanda xx

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    1. Hello Amanda. It's interesting to hear your results. I'm hoping to keep up the nature diary I've started to compare what's happening from year to year and look at flowering times etc. Then I'll compare it to national surveys! It's also interesting to see what's happening in local areas and regions i.e. how where you are is different to where I am.

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  5. Dear Wendy
    Winter must be a worrying time for you beekeepers, especially now when the seasons are in disarray. I haven't seen any out and about yet even though it has been reasonably mild and the crocus are open. Glad to know yours are ok under your vigilant eye.

    Love the new lambs - it takes me back to all the times we had our small flock and waiting in the cold for a ewe to give birth - hey ho, those were the days.

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    1. Hello Elaine. It's the most anxious time of year for beekeepers now because the bees may or may not have used up their winter stores. I'm hoping for a sunny, warm March so the bees can start flying properly.
      I don't think the breeder of my lambs was getting much sleep either - most of the lambs were being born in the middle of the night!

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  6. A very interesting post Wendy about early flowering times and bees and it is worrying. Do hope your bees will be ok and there will be some nectar for the wild ones when they emerge.

    The new lambs are adorable and its great to know that the one you'll bring home will have a long and happy life :)

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    1. Hello Caroline. As beekeepers share information all the time about the impact of the seasons/weather on honeybees it will be interesting to talk around and see what is going on. But it's a different story for wild bees of course.
      I'm hoping to take home another lamb with this one, he or she was as yet unborn when I visited last week!

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  7. Interesting to hear about your bees.....and the early wild flower count.
    Thanks for sharing this!

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  8. Hello Forest Dream Weaver and thanks for visiting!

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  9. Great photos of the bees in crocuses and of course the lambs are lovely.

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    1. Hello Emily. Thanks. The two oldest lambs were already running/jumping around and they wouldn't stay still for the camera!

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  10. Very interesting observations Wendy and like you I do wonder what the future holds as our climate becomes even more unpredictable. We are certainly going through a run of mild winters at the moment, though it was little more than five years ago that we also experienced severe frosts and a month with over a foot of snow in December 2010, so it is amazing how quickly things can change. I wonder what March and spring will bring?

    Lovely to see the Ryeland lambs, a breed I have rarely encountered except at agricultural shows, and I look forward to seeing more of the new addition when he comes to live with you in the summer :-)

    Hope you are well and my kindest regards :-)

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    1. Hello David. Many thanks. I'm really interested in the impact of climate change on honeybees and wildlife generally - and I'm concerned about it too, of course. I realise that some species will obviously adapt better than others. It seems honeybees have been exported all over the world, and have adapted to all sorts of climates, but these are the managed colonies. I imagine how wild colonies of honeybees will adapt is unknown.

      I love the Ryelands; they're perfect for us - not too large and lively!

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  11. Your little lamb is lovely! Interesting facts about your bees and bees in general it is a worry. I saw a bee out a couple of days ago when the weather was warmer, not sure what it would have fed on perhaps the heather that is in flower? I've seen one or two ladybirds too recently:)

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    1. Hello Rosie. As Bees love heather I'm sure they'll be on it. I've seen a couple of ladybirds, too, but in a building in the sun. I hope they weren't lured out too early because the building warmed up artificially.

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  12. Fascinating post about your bees. Certainly some plants in my garden, especially narcissus, are a full 4-6 weeks ahead in their flowering. There were several large bumblebees out in the sun at the weekend. The lambs are so cute!

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    1. Hello Sue. It's been interesting to hear from others what has been out earlier in their garden this year. I love to see the queen bumblebees out and about, hopefully feeding up well to produce strong colonies in the spring.

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  13. So interesting to hear about your bees. Some plants are definitely ahead in my garden, in fact the Rhododendrons were starting to flower very early though this cold weather has brought that to a halt thankfully and I think slowed everything down again now. But daffodils are early here. Have seen the odd bee around. I try and extend the flowering season as long as I can to help the bees.

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    1. Hello Annie. We've also had a succession of frosts so spring has really been put back now. I believe I've managed to have something growing here throughout the year that bees like. I'm aware that I'm surrounded by arable fields which can be very empty for them.

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  14. Hi Wendy, It was so lovely to see your name come up and see you are back blogging again! I can't believe you have been away so long! How exciting to have converted the barn and now be living so close to the animals. We have moved too - 20 miles along the coast. We saw a bee last weekend in the garden and I saw my first lamb yesterday too on the way to work. I love your new look too, it is so beautiful. Sarah x

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    1. Hello Sarah. Thanks for your kind words! I hope your own move went well. I've yet to see a bumblebee this year, but my own bees are finding hazel catkins and crocus when they're flying.

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  15. I love the idea of your lamb as a gentle lawn mower! We don't seem to be so far ahead with spring here in north wales as you are in the south east and today has been particularly cold. The wild bees are at the heather and the just emerging comfrey flowers.

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    1. Hello Elizabeth. All our sheep are lawn mowers here - I just wish they kept the nettles down, too! It would be interesting to analyse how far ahead we are here than you when it comes to spring, although of course it's cold here again, too.

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  16. What a pleasure to see you back again, I have missed you. A marvelous post as ever, fascinating about how climate change will affect the bees.
    Oh, how lovely to see your little lamb and to know it will have a long happy life!!!xxx

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    1. Hello Dina. Thanks so much. We hope to bring the new lamb back (with a companion) in about July, but if I can find the time I hope to go and see lambs again later in the spring to check on how they're doing (and growing!)

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  17. Interesting question about what the impact will be on wild pollinators of all this early following. I assume that if this becomes a new normal they will adjust. Your lambs look lovely, but I'm afraid it just got be lusting after slow roast lamb shoulder...

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    1. Hello Janet. I can't believe you would have to eat the lambs if you'd seen them - they were so sweet.
      I wonder if pollinators that concentrate on particular flowers will struggle with changes in the climate or whether they will be able to adapt to other plants easily.

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