# photos of one of my yards on a hot day in 2017



## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)




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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

No beards?


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Beautiful spot. I, too, noticed the lack of beards. I don't know what your daytime summer temperature might be but from June through August here mine are always bearded.


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

Yes. Michael once you talk about it I confess that it is rare to see beards in my hives.

In your opinion what does it mean?


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

relative humidity has much to do with bearding.
looks like a fairly semi arid landscape, is the relative humidity low on those hot days?


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

beemandam the photos were taken around 10 PM on the 12th of August. If I remember correctly I was inside the pickup and with the air conditioning on. They should be 28-30ºC at this time of day (82-86 Far.).


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

nice photos eduardo, thank you for sharing them.

i think clyde has it right about the humidity being low, especially if the temps are only low to mid 80's.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Humidity? Could be. It is always high here in the summer.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Eduardo Gomes said:


> Yes. Michael once you talk about it I confess that it is rare to see beards in my hives.
> 
> In your opinion what does it mean?


Not huge population? Also wonder about the humidity. ala beemandan.


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

Yes clyde the humidity is usually low and especially this year.

beemandan from what I hear say to some portuguese immigrants in the US, Portugal is a drier country in the summer, in general.

Thank you sp.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

Eduardo, I sure wish I could put that many colonies in one yard and make a good honey crop, it would save a whole lot of money and what feels like always running around from one yard to the next. thanks for the photos.


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

Michael Palmer said:


> Not huge population?


Yes, I also think so. 

The peak of the brood in this apiary occurs in mid-March early April. Until the beginning of May reaches the maximum number of bees (about 45 000) from there the population begins to decrease gradually. In August I believe that the strongest hives should have no more than 25,000-30,000 bees.


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

Yes clyde I think as you think. I try whenever there is a good flow in the zone concentrating as many beehives as possible to save time and fuel.

It is one of the apiaries that I have with better production. Now it has capacity for 80 hives but I will increase to 100, the maximum number of hives per yard allowed by Portuguese law.

This year about 70 hives have produced about 1800 kgs, almost twice the average of all my apiaries and I presume about 3 times fold the average of my country this year. 

When I read about the production in US and Canada I get a little embarrassed because my being rather low. I think the explanation has to do with the climate and also because we do not have such an intensive and extensive cultivation of the fields. For example I have no orchards around, fields of canola or sunflower. Most of the nectariferous plants are wild and therefore very dependent on rainfall. This year it rained very little and the flows were shorter in some flowers (wild rosemary and chestnut) and the honeydew nonexistent. The only flowering that was at a good level was that of heather. It was the flow of heather that surrounds this apiary which accounts for the best average.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

Eduardo Gomes said:


> When I read about the production in US and Canada I get a little embarrassed because my being rather low. I think the explanation has to do with the climate and also because we do not have such an intensive and extensive cultivation of the fields. For example I have no orchards around, fields of canola or sunflower. Most of the nectariferous plants are wild and therefore very dependent on rainfall. This year it rained very little and the flows were shorter in some flowers (wild rosemary and chestnut) and the honeydew nonexistent. The only flowering that was at a good level was that of heather. It was the flow of heather that surrounds this apiary which accounts for the best average.


I can't speak for others but good nectar forage in quantity has become a problem for me in my location. Many of the traditional sources have been removed for one reason or another.
At one time I could depend upon a coastal sweetpepper flow (summersweet or Clethra alnifolia) to build bees during the summer dearth and some times during a wet year get a crop. No more. It's been ripped out for no good reason other than clearing land and because property owners don't like the 'wild' look. It's a native nectar producing bush and a nice one at that.
Ditto for many of the other once reliable flows of yesteryear. 

I've resorted to spreading wild collected seeds far and wide. I tell anyone who will listen that nectar producing plants for my bees are at a critically low level. Just this year I collected and bought some sweetpepper bush seeds to propagate for distribution this coming spring. I have bags full of white sweet clover seeds to spread around and hand out to others who will do the same. Establishing these two plants and getting them accepted and planted by sympathetic souls will go a long way in helping all the bees here at a time of year they are stressed to the maximum. 

In the end we can only do our best with what our area will give us with an eye towards making it better. 
I too look at some of the yields of honey some are able to consistently harvest and wish it was me, but those fantastic yields are not possible here. I agree with others that mites are problem number 1, and think for my area good and varied pollen and nectar forage is right behind at number 2.

I wonder what others have to say about the forage situation in their areas.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

Hi clyde,
I'm lucky, the situation regarding forage has improved for me.

The valley we are in with our 40 plus hives used to be mostly dairy- farmers used to clear all re-growth to give space for an extra blade of grass. They also did not like Clover as it could result in bloat.

Now we have one dairy left in the valley - the rest is beef.

The forest has crept down hills and the clover can flower.

On the down side there are more beekeepers around now and we do have to share.

I'm looking for an extra yard for Spring nuc's.

Eduardo - lovely pictures. I have been in Portugal a few times - a few times at Tamera and one time - un-forgetable - a May in the Algarve ( Quito valey des amoriras spp?) one timein some other place with lots of flowers but no bees.

Love Portugal!! fantastic honey


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