Borage

This is borage (Borago offinicialis), a common annual herb and a favourite with bees, especially honey bees. The flowers are five pointed stars and are mostly blue

although some are pink.

I have noticed a lot of white pollen coming into the hives and wasn't sure where it was coming from until I looked closely at these bees.  The various pollen colour charts I found online all say that borage pollen is blue/grey, without offering any evidence.  However, borage pollen is clearly white.

It is fascinating to watch the bees collecting the pollen.  They hang upside down and scrape the anthers with their legs.  The pollen falls onto the abdomen before being collected with the pollen brushes on the back legs and packed into the pollen baskets.  (The photos with a dark background are taken in daylight but with flash.)

The pollen looks creamy white by the time it is in the pollen baskets, especially in the flash photos.

I started by sowing borage seeds a few years ago but now it seeds itself all over the kitchen garden.  The plants come up all summer so there are lots of flowers for the bees.

Front page news

I am pleased to say that the cover of the latest edition of BeeCraft has one of my photos.

Wild comb

I have always been one for taking photos so when I took up beekeeping five years ago it was natural to take photos of what I saw as I started learning.  Reading Rusty Burlew's latest blog post (if you haven't read it you really should) reminded me of my second visit to the Hexham Beekeepers' apiary in 2012 for a beginners' teaching session with Robert Furniss.  We looked at a hive on May 27th which had overwintered for some reason with an empty super as an eke below the roof.  The bees had taken advantage of the empty space, as they do, and filled it with comb.  This is the view from underneath as the comb was fixed to the roof.

It is beautiful to look at but completely disorganised and presents quite a problem.  You can see it includes brood comb and possibly queen cells as well.  2012 was a terrible summer for bees but a good time to start learning as we saw so many problems in a short time.  I learnt a lot of things and this wild comb was one thing I didn't forget. Another lesson was always carry a camera.

Rosebay willowherb

Rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) is in full flower just now and is a common sight along roadside verges.  In the US it is known as fireweed because it colonises areas burnt by forest fires.  It is popular with all types of bees and both pollen and nectar are collected by honey bees.  Although the flowers are a vivid pink the pollen is blue. Honey bees mix the pollen with a little nectar to pack it tightly in their pollen baskets (corbiculae) so it looks a bit darker.

This is a leafcutter bee (Megachile sp.) which carries the pollen loose on a pollen brush (scopa) under its abdomen so it looks a lighter blue than on the honey bees.