Hawthorn it is then?

[beeno]

Hot and humid here last two days. Perfect weather for Hawthorne foraging. Hot and sticky for me!

 

[Cazza]

Hot and humid here last two days. Perfect weather for Hawthorne foraging. Hot and sticky for me!

I wish!!!
Cloudy and cool here today. A/S this morning in the nick of time. Bees not impressed.
Cazza

 

[Mellifera397]

Just coming out around here, though some are in full bloom not far away.lovely weather for it if it wasn't so windy!!

M

 

[NoelH]

Fantastic pictures! Hawthorn is really starting to flower in North Cork and very aromatic. Still waiting for my first two nucs and getting very impatient, seeing as the weather has been so good here for the last

 

[Shabro]

I'm hoping the hawthorn will produce, I have one colony that it working it like mad.
TBH I'm thinking of moving a few hives back there as its everywhere , then there is still the bramble and rosebay willowherb to come at the same location in a nature reserve.

 

[madasafish]

First hawthorn blossom appeared Friday. isolated so far to warmer spots. The 100(?) year old tree in the field next door thinking about flowering. Only 16C at most yesterday and chilly wind.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ours just starting and good weather forecast.
There is absolutely MASSES of holly blossom too.

 

[beeno]

Hi all,
Just to let you know that it really was Hawthorn my bees were bringing in as you cannot mistake the aroma! The Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Association describes it as follows: quote
Hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha)
Hawthorn is also called the May Bush or Whitethorn, or by its Irish name, Sceach. It flourishes in hedges everywhere except in the very acid bog-land soils. It flowers from mid-May to mid-June, depending on the weather and the locality.

Unfortunately it is a most irregular yielder of nectar even when flowering in warm sunny weather. A study in the USA in areas where the hawthorn grows abundantly but also yields irregularly, even though the weather pattern is almost uniform, failed to identify the reason.

Here when we get a heavy flow from hawthorn the weather is warm and humid; such a flow is heavy and continues sometimes for ten to fourteen days as in 1998 but often for only a few days.

Some connoisseurs of honey rate hawthorn honey as their favourite with its rich, nutty flavour. It has a very good 'body' or density, a dark, brownish colour and a distinctive almond aroma.

Hawthorn is also an excellent supplier of pollen and it is easy to recognise the pale white pollen loads in the bees' pollen baskets. At the time when brood rearing is at its peak, this fresh pollen is invaluable.unquote
To me it tasts like Elderflower.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes it's lovely honey...I still have a few jars from last year.
Grab a few frames if you can.

 

[psafloyd]

Hi all,
Some in the Irish beekeeping fraternity think Hawthorn pollen to be white for sure. I am just wondering if this is why my bees have white faces in the morning with nothing in their pollen baskets (going for the nectar). Late morning they did however come back with white pollen. In the afternoon it was all apple again, but not from my tree anymore. The flow from Hawthorn is very unpredictable apparently, but very nice if you get some honey from it. Anyone got experience of Hawthorne?

Come on, it's obvious. It's make up...

 

[beeno]

Yes it's lovely honey...I still have a few jars from last year.
Grab a few frames if you can.

Hi ErichA,
That is the plan, but they have not capped a lot of it yet! Hope I get to it before it is being used for swarm food. I was going to buy a Refractometer, (but it was £80). The ones used for the brewing industry measures sugar content, so beeks assume that the difference is water then - just to make it crystal clear? Can you or anyone else for that matter give me make and cost of the cheapest? Cannot shake my frames for the other test. Nice talking to you. Thanks to you and other forum members.

 

[beeno]

Come on, it's obvious. It's make up...

Probably - you never know where you might find some!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Beeno
Go to ebay
Make sure it's a HONEY refractometer
They all come from Hong Kong but mine has been OK for three seasons and cost about £15 with shipping

 

[Skyhook]

Hi ErichA,
That is the plan, but they have not capped a lot of it yet! Hope I get to it before it is being used for swarm food. I was going to buy a Refractometer, (but it was £80). The ones used for the brewing industry measures sugar content, so beeks assume that the difference is water then - just to make it crystal clear? Can you or anyone else for that matter give me make and cost of the cheapest? Cannot shake my frames for the other test. Nice talking to you. Thanks to you and other forum members.

Ebay, chinese, under £20 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0&_nkw=honey+refractometer&_sacat=0&_from=R40

 

[MuswellMetro]

Ebay, chinese, under £20 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0&_nkw=honey+refractometer&_sacat=0&_from=R40

I have a chinese one and for simple Honey water content works well, got mine off ebay for £15 two years ago, My friend bought one from a retail Beehive supplier £86...same box, same refractometer...difference was mine came with no wooden spatulas or calibration oil.... That doesn't add up to the £71 difference in price