December bees

We have had a lot of cold weather recently, with nighttime temperatures down to -5℃ and daytime barely above freezing so the bees have been confined to barracks.  This morning it was 12℃ and sunny so they came out in force to make the most of it.

The lazy ones were just sitting around in the sunshine, topping up their tans.

Others were hard at work and there was a surprising amount of pollen coming in.

All the pollen was this pale yellow colour.

There aren't many flowers for them to choose from at this time of year but the mahonia is out and they were busy visiting the flowers.  I expect this is where the pollen was coming from.

A few slackers had chosen the mahonia to soak up the sun.

Fresh pollen collection is said to be a sign that they are feeding brood but I doubt that that is the case at this time of year.  Still, at 55° North in mid December it was a very cheering sight.  By early afternoon it was cloudy and they were all already safely back inside.  Only two months and the snowdrops will be out.