Heather flow? How to tell?

[Sutty]

I'm in my 1st productive year since moving locations (and a long break from bees). Recently extracted 50Kg and about half as much still on some hives.
However I now seem to be in a honey flow, lots of activity & hives humming like mad at night.
There is heather in the area though not sure enough close enough and everything I have extracted so far has flowed alright in the spinner.
Is there an easy way to tell if it's heather? Decap a bit and see if it flows?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm in my 1st productive year since moving locations (and a long break from bees). Recently extracted 50Kg and about half as much still on some hives.
However I now seem to be in a honey flow, lots of activity & hives humming like mad at night.
There is heather in the area though not sure enough close enough and everything I have extracted so far has flowed alright in the spinner.
Is there an easy way to tell if it's heather? Decap a bit and see if it flows?

Isn’t heather honey pink? And it has a definite aroma.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Isn’t heather honey pink? And it has a definite aroma.

in the comb it looks like any other honey although it does have this different sheen to it before the bees cap it. Definitely a different aroma - hard to describe.

 

[Sutty]

I'd heard about the aroma, but only useful once you recognise it!

 

[ericbeaumont]

I'd heard about the aroma, but only useful once you recognise it!

It's markedly different, is the best I can offer. Can smell it round the hives. Pungent whiff true of bell or ling.

 

[elainemary]

I'm in my 1st productive year since moving locations (and a long break from bees). Recently extracted 50Kg and about half as much still on some hives.
However I now seem to be in a honey flow, lots of activity & hives humming like mad at night.
There is heather in the area though not sure enough close enough and everything I have extracted so far has flowed alright in the spinner.
Is there an easy way to tell if it's heather? Decap a bit and see if it flows?

I'm in my 1st productive year since moving locations (and a long break from bees). Recently extracted 50Kg and about half as much still on some hives.
However I now seem to be in a honey flow, lots of activity & hives humming like mad at night.
There is heather in the area though not sure enough close enough and everything I have extracted so far has flowed alright in the spinner.
Is there an easy way to tell if it's heather? Decap a bit and see if it flows?

Amber coloured in the comb. V distinctive smell but the give away is when the cell walls and cappings are v white

 

[pete darbyshire]

Walk amongst the heather and breath it in. If your hives smell the same as that, its heather honey. Plus the may be bringing in grey pollen.

 

[pete darbyshire]

it looks like this!!

 

[Curly green finger's]

View attachment 33443
it looks like this!!

And this

 

[jheselton]

Looks very heatherlike, shame this is not smelly vision

 

[Curly green finger's]

Looks very heatherlike, shame this is not smelly vision

It is pure heather

 

[Sutty]

Some of mine looked just like that - and wasn't heather!

 

[Curly green finger's]

Some of mine looked just like that - and wasn't heather!

Looks smell taste , I’ve also had frames of summer honey with heather on the outside of frames also the other way around , interestingly some frames with spring summer and heather this season more than ever bloody demareed colonys

 

[Erichalfbee]

Decap a bit and see if it flows?

Taste it

 

[Erichalfbee]

cell walls and cappings are v white

But that's not peculiar to heather though is it?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But that's not peculiar to heather though is it?

found that the cappings on the main summer flow to be as white if not whiter than heather

 

[Erichalfbee]

found that the cappings on the main summer flow to be as white if not whiter than heather

Yes ours have been outstanding. Pure pure white.