Bees at seed feeder - Sandy Reid - Apr. 3, 2015

Bees at seed feeder – Sandy Reid – Apr. 3, 2015

On April 3 in our birdfeeder, something was buzzing. There must have been at least 100 Honey Bees on the seeds!  Nice weather brought them to it I guess.

Sandy Reid

N.B.  I did a bit of research to find out what’s happening here:  “”When honey bees begin to rear brood in the hive nest, some bees will leave the hive in search of food. This typically happens on days when the temperature is above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When no flowers are available to provide pollen, the foraging bees will turn to other sources they may encounter. Seeds that have been ground into feed for farm animal are a good example of a pollen substitute attractive to bees. Bees will even carry fresh saw dust to the nest for food. How much nutrition the bees get from sawdust is unknown. Honey bees are unable to carry seeds back to the hive and process them for food. However they will carry small grains of broken seeds and the dust, and would even empty a bird feeder trying to get to the food.”

Categories: Sightings

Drew Monkman

I am a retired teacher, naturalist and writer with a love for all aspects of the natural world, especially as they relate to seasonal change.