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Looks like things are about to bloom but they must not be blooming yet around Whitsett because bees are really collecting the home made pollen sub. I have 3 buckets out and they are all pretty busy. The picture was taken Feb 12, 2013 about 10:30AM.
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w45/ ... b61358.jpg

Well Feb 12, 2013 about 3:00 PM and there were a total of 3 bees in all the buckets. I think they have found another source.

The last few days a few bees have been showing up for a pollen sub party.

YEP, It's time. We put pollen patties on today at Beez Needz.

I've been getting the same reading on my "red maple meter" that Ski has been registering.

Rob,
What is a "Red Maple Meter"?

When you put your pollen substitute out and only 2 bees show up instead of the crowd in your photo, you can be pretty sure that the red maple has bloomed. And by the way, very shortly after the red maple blooms you can look for your first of the season phone call--people looking for local honey for seasonal allergies.

Thanks for the explanation.
Yea its always a weird feeling when that happens. When it does I hope something is blooming but always have to watch the entrances to make sure there is still active traffic and not some disaster.
We may have to wait a few more weeks until that meter is only showing a few bees.

The NCSBA calendar says this Saturday, Feb. 6th.

I hope that is more accurate then the NCSBA "Whats Blooming " site that shows Mar 5.
Edit: Mountain region is March 5 the Piedmont is Feb 1st.

Also Weather.com is showing low temperatures to be at or below freezing for the next 11 days.

Sounds like we are in the ball park. Just waiting to see what Mother Nature is going to provide.

So, does this suggest that if I used the 'mountain camp' sugar method for overwintering, I take off the sugar now and put pollen patties on instead? Also, is it safe to thaw and use pollen patties that have been frozen for two years?

You can feed both. The sugar is to keep the adult bees from starving over winter. The pollen substitute/pollen patty is to help the bees feed new brood and build up foragers for the flow, to make splits later, or to watch them swarm.

I have used pollen substitute patties that have been in the freezer for longer than two years. I don't know how much nutrition they lose, but the bees do use them.

Thanks for answering my question, Rob. So, if the top super has the sugar under the cover, do you just drop to the super below and put the pollen patties on top of those frames? I've only used them once. They were quite messy and seemed to attract SHBs. Have you (or others) found they attract other nasty critters such as wax moths?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Unless you plan to make nucs or sell packages, there is really no reason to use them. They are used to make more bees than a hive can handle and there needs to be a plan for the extra bees.

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say tye are used to make more beers than a hive can handle.

I use pollen patties, and I don't make nucs or sell packages. I put pollen sub on ~25% of my hives. These end up producing massive populations, and I rob frames of brood from most of these ~25% to "donate" to the other ~75% about two to three weeks before the main honey flow. It ends up giving me a larger forager population, and a higher honey yield.

A few hives I feed pollen sub to I don't rob brood from, and instead use them for queen rearing.

But yes, a plan should be made if you feed sub.

OK yesterday was in the 50's and today its in the 60's and maybe only a dozen bees are at the pollen sub I have put out.
So, that should mean the red maples are blooming.
The maple in my yard is not blooming.
But I took a walk around the subdivision before the rain started and sure enough there is a maple blooming and there were bees working it.

It will be interesting to see how the upcoming cold nights affect the foraging.

Score one for the Red Maple Meter!

I have not looked this season, but in prior years, some red maples bloom several weeks earlier than others. I don't know if there is some difference in the tree variety or whether the early bloomers are in a slightly warmer area or are getting more direct sunlight.

There were bees working the maple in the subdivision today around 1:00 pm.

My bees are really taking the spent brewers yeast mix. In my neighborhood, it looks like the extremely warm December may have caused a number of red maples to bud out early and get damaged by the later cold weather. Some of the maples have the red tint, but others just have buds that don't look like they are doing anything. I'll keep pollen substitute out until the bees quit taking it.

Mine have not been very excited about the pollen substitute for a few days now, but they have been working two maples on the other side of the subdivision.

I opened two hives today. Brooding is ramping up. There were 8 or 10 bees on each side of each frame with baskets full of pollen, waiting to unload. It is coming in heavily.