E273 - Plain Talk: Late Winter Robbing

On a cold, soggy walk back to the bee yard, Jim reflects on an uncomfortable but important topic: robbing. With temperatures hovering around 40°F and only a hint of flight activity, he begins to question what he's seeing. Are the bees simply stretching their wings, or are they already checking neighboring colonies for available resources?

Jim revisits a warm spell from a few weeks earlier when surprising flight activity left him wondering if robbing had begun earlier than expected. With no pollen coming in and no nectar flow underway, what else would bees be searching for?