The local OSR yielded 300lb off 8 hives that were in the right place at the right time. There's a further 15 supers full now but with with weather I will leave them until mid July and hopefully we get some better weather and the main flownstarts.
On the 5 in WBcs I have elsewhere they've had a poor start - one queen less and then a drone layer, 3 making huge attempts to swarm and another that almost bit got it in time. The last one had a fine super of Spring wildflower honey on it that once extracted was some of the finest I've ever tasted. Bloody expensive honey too seeing as it cost the site owner £30,000 to sow a wildflower meadow 2 years ago
It does make me think though that the beekeepers in the 18th century who had access to huge swathes of wildflower meadows probably took a fine Spring crop almost every year....!
On the 5 in WBcs I have elsewhere they've had a poor start - one queen less and then a drone layer, 3 making huge attempts to swarm and another that almost bit got it in time. The last one had a fine super of Spring wildflower honey on it that once extracted was some of the finest I've ever tasted. Bloody expensive honey too seeing as it cost the site owner £30,000 to sow a wildflower meadow 2 years ago
It does make me think though that the beekeepers in the 18th century who had access to huge swathes of wildflower meadows probably took a fine Spring crop almost every year....!
