Well here we are smack dab in the middle of allergy season. The picture above is a beautiful example of a fine specimen that is the culprit of your allergies through this time of year. The culprit is none other than Ragweed. And a beautiful ragweed it is in my opinion. No, this post is not about allergies and who or who is not responsible for them, but I always want to mention whenever I have opportunity to do so that ragweed, not goldenrod, is the real problem with your allergies in August, September, and October. Got that covered, now on to the real issue that this post is about.
Year after year it never fails to come up whether in online beekeeping forums, at a local bee club, or just two beekeepers discussing what bees will or will not forage on. The discussion I'm referring to is the one that revolves around the summer dearth and what forage is available from tallow to goldenrod. And I have seen people so galvanized on their observations its as if they think bees are going to follow the same feeding structure in North Louisiana as they do in South Louisiana. Its just not true.
First let me explain that I'm gonna give you my two cents based on my observations in my local area. Your observations may be totally different if you are more than 10 miles away from me. West La Bee Farm is located in Mayo, Louisiana, so you results may vary from mine if you are in Many, Louisiana or Pitkin, Louisiana.
Here is what I have seen on the little hill the West La Bee Farm occupies. Bloom time on ragweed seems to vary from year to year. I've seen it begin flowering in late July to mid-August. This is what most folks around here call "the dearth". Its called the dearth because in the heat of summer while the sun is highest in the sky there is not much available for bees to forage on in the for of nectar. Bees do not live on nectar alone though. Pollen is also on their menu, but it is mostly for rearing brood. This is why, in my opinion, pollen from ragweed is valuable to your hives in late summer. But wait, this is where people get into big arguments over whether or not bees even forage on ragweed! Well, here in Mayo, Louisiana they most certainly do. In the picture above I was actually attempting to get a picture of a bee grabbing a pollen snack, but she wasn't cooperating. If I can get another chance at it I will be more prepared to get a good pic and post it here later. But just trust me for now that honey bees most certainly forage for ragweed pollen, at least that is the case here on this farm.
I not only have witnessed the bees foraging everyday on ragweed pollen here, but I have also noticed a bit of increase in egg laying by the queen once the ragweed pollen is coming in hot and heavy. I truly believe this is by design. Why do I believe that? It lies in the fact that in the U.S., especially here in Louisiana the goldenrod flow is the last big nectar flow of the year and the bees need to increase the colony numbers before the goldenrod flow is really kicking. What is the main ingredient in building brood? POLLEN! How long does it take for worker bees to go from egg to field bee? About 5 weeks give or take a few days. The ragweed has been blooming here for three weeks or better. We are still 2 weeks from full goldenrod bloom it appears, even though the first blooms here on the farm were spotted 2 days ago. Judging by the looks of the majority of the tall goldenrod it will be blooming for awhile as it is currently in several stages of growth.
So when you figure up how long the ragweed has been blooming, its correlation to the build-up of brood, and when full goldenrod bloom will take place, you can't help but see that there is a rhythm to it all.
Here is my observation in a nutshell. Ragweed blooms first in July or August. You might can figure out when the goldenrod is going to bloom based on when the ragweed blooms (will be watching for this in years to come). I'm thinking 5-6 weeks later for full bloom (Ragweed blooms continue during the goldenrod bloom). Bees prepare for the goldenrod nectar flow by building up colony population using the ragweed pollen since it is the most abundant during this time.
Final synopsis: HONEY BEES DO INDEED FORAGE RAGWEED POLLEN
I want you to keep in mind that if you live in an area where you never see bees gathering from the ragweed it is because in your area you have something growing there that they prefer over the ragweed. Bees are not inherently lazy. If there is something to work on, they will work on it. However, they will only work the things that are the most nutritious for their needs. That what bees do.
Hey, leave a comment below if you enjoyed this post or have any suggestions or questions. Thanks for stopping by!
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