Please take your time to fill in the form as comprehensively as possible. The fields marked with a red asterisk must be completed before the form can be sent. Any further details you can give helps us form a picture of the colony concerned - the more detail the better! When observing a wild living colony:
- Check the weather forecast:
It‘s important to set out in good weather - sunny conditions and temperatures around 15 °C are perfect, 20 °C is even better as the bees will be flying even when situated in shade. - Take your binoculars:
A good quality pair of binoculars (even a spotting scope) is essential to determine whether pollen is brought in. Normally pollen is only brought in by foragers when the bees are rearing brood; if all you see is bees without loaded pollen baskets (over a reasonable span of time) it could well be that foragers from other nests in the area are robbing the winter stores of a failing colony. This video https://vimeo.com/328031518 will make things clearer. - Recording of observations:
Please record your observations back home at the computer or on-site using your smartphone, using the form below; photos are very welcome, especially of bees carrying pollen, if your equipment allows capture of this.
If you’d prefer not to state any personal data, we would be grateful to receive your info anonymously by mail/letter; please download the appropriate pdf form if it’s helpful (so far only available in German but soon to come in English as well).