Off to the Heather

[mbc]

I'm trying ling heather for my first time at the moment. Weather has been poor recently but the flow is on now for sure. Just keeping bees about 4 years, but I've never seen anything quite like this before. Standing behind the five hives this morning, it's like watching a 100 lane motorway in the sky as they approach. So fingers crossed for some ling honey.

The heather flow can be something to behold when the bees are tracking back so determinedly and single mindedly packing it in.
Good luck to everyone who's made the trek, heather honey is such a lovely product and it's a slightly sad fact that the majority of the potential crop from our heather moors goes untapped each season.

 

[AndyTh]

Checked progress in supers of heather hives on Saturday near Blaenavon. Bees working on 3-5 combs, so not the progress (<=3 supers per hive) reported recently on here from Exmoor, some 30 or so miles from here. On track for a super per hive. For the first time ever, I added a second super of drawn comb, to give space in the event of better weather. The hills are ablaze with ling in full colour, but it was too cool to get the aroma of the heather Moor that warmer temperatures bring.

 

[Into the lions den]

Checked progress in supers of heather hives on Saturday near Blaenavon. Bees working on 3-5 combs, so not the progress (<=3 supers per hive) reported recently on here from Exmoor, some 30 or so miles from here. On track for a super per hive. For the first time ever, I added a second super of drawn comb, to give space in the event of better weather. The hills are ablaze with ling in full colour, but it was too cool to get the aroma of the heather Moor that warmer temperatures bring.

It might pick up....it ran into the buffers and stopped dead with the change of airstream here late last week. Hoping it will return as the heather is at worst around mid flower, but not holding my breath given the forecast. Kind of looks as if it might be over, or getting that way, for the north.

Don't pay too much attention to other peoples stated averages...everyone seems to have different ways of counting it. One guy up here always gets at least 3 supers a hive, which you might think remarkable, BUT.. he discounts all the small ones as 'non producers' ( you kind of guarantee a 3 super average to claim if you only count the ones that get it) and its still a super if the bees have half or more filled it. If you want to test whether someone has as wonderful a crop as they say offer to buy it. Funny how its often not so big then....

 

[user 6228]

I heard it stated with confidence that when the heather pollen rose in clouds whilst walking through it, that was it over, time to move the hives home.

Anyone agree or otherwise?

PH

I wouldnt have thought that was true coz the plants want the max attention from pollenators when they have max pollen... The nectar is to attract pollenators. However, is making the pollen loose rather than sticky a last gasp by the plants to get pollenated by the passage of larger animals...?

 

[Swarm]

Checked progress in supers of heather hives on Saturday near Blaenavon. Bees working on 3-5 combs, so not the progress (<=3 supers per hive) reported recently on here from Exmoor, some 30 or so miles from here. On track for a super per hive. For the first time ever, I added a second super of drawn comb, to give space in the event of better weather. The hills are ablaze with ling in full colour, but it was too cool to get the aroma of the heather Moor that warmer temperatures bring.

All the valley tops are purple, you can see it now the clouds have lifted Sun is shining brightly now and temps have soared, you may be in luck this coming week.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Looking like this year is going to be even better than last year, and last year was one of the best years for many.

 

[Into the lions den]

Looking like this year is going to be even better than last year, and last year was one of the best years for many.

You lot are being lucky with the weather...Yorkshire even more so...but we rather ran out of luck about 10 days ago. Its going to be average to a bit above but a klondyke it aint.

However, cant grumble. Was talking to a Welsh guy only yesterday and he thinks he will be lucky to have 10lb a hive (he said less but I'm sure it will not be as bad as he thought)

So looks like the mega places to be have been Devon and Yorkshire. Again. I can sell you water though...its been coming down in torrents quite a lot this last 10 days. Bees trying to work in it but bee flight is now noticeably less than 2 weeks ago, even when fine.

 

[SDM]

My best site from last year is bone dry, the other has filled a super and started a 2nd. Nowhere near the colour their was last year in the dry site.

 

[alfazer]

I'm a heather rookie. Any estimates when it might finish up?
It started to yield around 10th August and we had a LOT of rain and flooding last week. My apiary is on hard ground but I took a walk through the heather today and had to turn back; I could barely stop sinking. Bee action has been strong again over the last few days.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Any estimates when it might finish up?

Here I've never known them to collect much after the first week in September, even if the heather still looks good and the weather is perfect... exception being 2015 when it didn't produce anything much until nearly the end of September, but that was some kind of strange fluke year here.

 

[Millet]

You lot are being lucky with the weather...Yorkshire even more so...but we rather ran out of luck about 10 days ago. Its going to be average to a bit above but a klondyke it aint.

However, cant grumble. Was talking to a Welsh guy only yesterday and he thinks he will be lucky to have 10lb a hive (he said less but I'm sure it will not be as bad as he thought)

So looks like the mega places to be have been Devon and Yorkshire. Again. I can sell you water though...its been coming down in torrents quite a lot this last 10 days. Bees trying to work in it but bee flight is now noticeably less than 2 weeks ago, even when fine.

Just fill them full of syrup and harvest that..

 

[Beefriendly]

So looks like the mega places to be have been Devon and Yorkshire. A

Yes, Western Yorkshire moors have been very good again, lots of decent flying weather. I can't remember a year when the scent of the heather was so strong for so long. Parts of the eastern moors that were poor last year are just a sea of colour this year. This part was so poor last year some of the big boys moved their hives to the western moors (where it was good) or took them home to prevent them starving. Hives appearing in all sorts of unlikely places out there, many seem as though they have just been dropped off by the side of the road....which they probably have.

 

[Into the lions den]

Here I've never known them to collect much after the first week in September, even if the heather still looks good and the weather is perfect... exception being 2015 when it didn't produce anything much until nearly the end of September, but that was some kind of strange fluke year here.

Same here. Have now seen significant heather honey in September only 4 times in my whole time in bees...........which is now...with my father and myself.....over 50 years. What may or may not be significant is that two of them have been the last two years, when the flow has continued until between the 12th and 14th. Unless there is significant nectar coming in we *usually* start stripping the hives around 5th September.

Doubt September flows will be the case this year. Heather is browning (a week from now there will not be much left) and the bee power declining. The flying bees have thrashed themselves near to destruction in the less than optimal conditions up here. Lots of tatty wings now on the flyers. Hives look very healthy however, bit worried about the lack of laying space in the nests. Many colonies stopped moving it up during the poor weather of the 17th-24th Aug here......decaying remnant of Hurricane Gert just sat off the Western Isles for a week dropping seemingly constant rain. At the same time it pumped really humid weather across the 'golden' spots, which seems to have been a stripe from Devon to Yorkshire (and as there is not much heather in between those you get the impression of it being only two areas). Was not especially cold though but we did get some storm damage, particularly in a couple of windy spots.

Its not a disaster season though. Heather crop will probably be on the upside of average as they got off to a cracking start, and the 'filling in down' that is happening in the recent days does add significantly to the final tally.

 

[Into the lions den]

Just fill them full of syrup and harvest that..

Going back a few years that was not an uncommon practice............

Still is in some parts...

Know that some feed in excess of 100Kg invert syrup...during the season. Then make great play on their 80-100Kg average. (Not UK...just so that's perfectly clear...but it does go on to some extent even saw feeding going on into hive top feeders above the supers *in the UK* about 3 weeks back.)

 

[foghornleghorn]

Same here. Have now seen significant heather honey in September only 4 times in my whole time in bees...........which is now...with my father and myself.....over 50 years. What may or may not be significant is that two of them have been the last two years, when the flow has continued until between the 12th and 14th. Unless there is significant nectar coming in we *usually* start stripping the hives around 5th September.

Doubt September flows will be the case this year. Heather is browning (a week from now there will not be much left) and the bee power declining. The flying bees have thrashed themselves near to destruction in the less than optimal conditions up here. Lots of tatty wings now on the flyers. Hives look very healthy however, bit worried about the lack of laying space in the nests. Many colonies stopped moving it up during the poor weather of the 17th-24th Aug here......decaying remnant of Hurricane Gert just sat off the Western Isles for a week dropping seemingly constant rain. At the same time it pumped really humid weather across the 'golden' spots, which seems to have been a stripe from Devon to Yorkshire (and as there is not much heather in between those you get the impression of it being only two areas). Was not especially cold though but we did get some storm damage, particularly in a couple of windy spots.

Its not a disaster season though. Heather crop will probably be on the upside of average as they got off to a cracking start, and the 'filling in down' that is happening in the recent days does add significantly to the final tally.

Would you expect to pull many frames from the bottom box?

 

[Into the lions den]

Would you expect to pull many frames from the bottom box?

Yes we will, and seems as if this year it is going to be especially important as there will be no room for their feeding (we always winter on singles). Its generally not great practice unless you know what you are doing but we use Sept and Oct as our main new brood comb drawing months, so we can take normally 3 to 5 bars away from the bottom box (have rarely done up to 8!), then intersperse the foundation into the nest, and as soon as you get them off the mountains feed them. (We give 10 litres of invert syrup...its enough till March).The comb drawn is perfect, the food clean of impurities, and the wintering superior.

You also get a generation of bees raised in the clean new drawn combs that are perfect for wintering...especially if you do this in September.

 

[Poly Hive]

*chuckles*

I have no doubt that many will not believe this. But it certainly works.

Do you think the flow is over or is it worth hanging on a bit. Curious as one of our people has put a hive out yesterday in hope....

PH

 

[REDWOOD]

Bees here are still working the heather here although most of it is brown with a few patches on the higher grown that is still in full bloom

 

[Into the lions den]

Do you think the flow is over or is it worth hanging on a bit. Curious as one of our people has put a hive out yesterday in hope....

PH

Would suggest that, given that after today the windy cool weather predicted until into Sept for northern parts ( jammy sods further south will be much luckier again) that the flow is 90% behind us. Still decent nectar coming in so the void parts in the boxes immediately above the bottom broodnests will be finishing off very nicely. Lovely seeing them sealed all the way to the bottom bars.

I think your local associate may be largely wasting their time.............should have been up at least 3 weeks ago.

 

[Poly Hive]

Hmm.. confirms my thoughts and I personally like to be on the moor for the 2nd to 3d week of July.

I don't have the heart to say anything and who knows he may just get a bit lucky.

PH