When do bees start being active in the spring??

[Pilatus]

I know nothing about bees ,so when do they start being active in the spring, is their activity governed by day length or mainly by outside air temperature?
With rape well out in flower in some areas I was wondering if bees aren’t very active to pollinate the rape whether that will have a detrimental effect on the yield of the rape.

 

[britt]

Temperature. They'll be out on new years day if it's warm enough.

 

[Pilatus]

Temperature. They'll be out on new years day if it's warm enough.

Thanks for your post.Any idea what temp is “ warm enough”?

 

[britt]

When there is sun on the hives to give a bit of heat.
I couldn't give a specific temp. But the little buggers still sting, and I think are angrier in lower temps!
I think with rape a lot of the pollination is done by other insects and physical contact as there are so many flowers so close together.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Lots of honey bees on dandelions here atm, and also lots of bumble bees.

 

[Hindsight]

I know nothing about bees ,so when do they start being active in the spring, is their activity governed by day length or mainly by outside air temperature?
With rape well out in flower in some areas I was wondering if bees aren’t very active to pollinate the rape whether that will have a detrimental effect on the yield of the rape.

As I understand, Rape self pollinates but cross pollination resulting from various insects that inhabit rape in addition to bees occurs. May actually be a negative as can lead to high Erucic acid levels if outside pollination contaminates the plant with pollen from wrong plant. But rape does provide a good source of pollen for Bees. Hey ho

 

[Bee Keeper Andy]

I've seen my bees out on New Years day when the weather has been fine, but in small numbers. With good management a beekeeper will ensure the colonies are strong and by feeding in early spring this will encourage queens to lay early and build up numbers. My hives, based in the North West, have increased and bees are returning with lots of pollen. So while the weather is a key factor so is good bee keeping and also proximity of hives to your crop, bees will forage approximately within 3 miles of their hive. BW Andy