Why is there a june gap?

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Zante

Field Bee
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Feb 22, 2016
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Location
Near Florence, Italy
Hive Type
Dadant
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I'm wondering because one would think that with a gap in blooming like that some plants would have squeezed their way in to have all those "idling" pollinators without competition.

Is it something more recent, due to changes in the environment? By "recent" I mean a few centuries, of course, or in any case a kind of timescale that won't allow for evolutionary adjustments.
 
At a guess so that they don't produce seed that needs to get started in the dry months of July and August. The seeds need damp soil to germinate.
 
I'm wondering because one would think that with a gap in blooming like that some plants would have squeezed their way in to have all those "idling" pollinators without competition.

Is it something more recent, due to changes in the environment? By "recent" I mean a few centuries, of course, or in any case a kind of timescale that won't allow for evolutionary adjustments.

I have in Finland June gap too. IT is between dandelion and raspberry. Gap is 2-3 weeks. Pollen plants are plenty.

Nature is full of blooming during gap, but not suitable mass nectar flowers for bees.
 
At a guess so that they don't produce seed that needs to get started in the dry months of July and August. The seeds need damp soil to germinate.

Peaches here bloom very early and are ripe in september.
The seeds can be ready/released when the plant is ready, and can't they stay dormant until conditions are right? I know plenty of seeds need to be refrigerated to break dormancy to simulate a winter, for example.
 
Just trying to figure out why when generally our warmest wettest weather produces the least in terms of attractant for the pollinators


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It may be down to the grass getting taller and suppressing some nectar plants until the rose bay willowherb and blackberry come into flower, which are taller. Rural areas would be more noticeable than urban areas as there are plants that flower in abundance in urban areas, but that is down to the gardeners in the area. When I had bees in an urban area, I didn't really notice a June gap. Cotoneaster always had an abundance of bees on it during that time.
 
It may be down to the grass getting taller and suppressing some nectar plants until the rose bay willowherb and blackberry come into flower, which are taller. Rural areas would be more noticeable than urban areas as there are plants that flower in abundance in urban areas, but that is down to the gardeners in the area. When I had bees in an urban area, I didn't really notice a June gap. Cotoneaster always had an abundance of bees on it during that time.

Right, but imagine out of the ones you mentioned (rose bay willowherb and blackberry) starts blooming a little bit earlier. It would have the monopoly on pollinators, wouldn't it?

Let's say blackberry blooms a little bit earlier. It could still attract pollinators even by producing less nectar since the choice would be blackberry or.... gap. It could save energy producing less nectar per bloom and use that energy to produce more blooms which in turn would mean more fruit to be eaten by birds and more seeds spread around.

I'm sure there is an explanation why there is a June gap, I just can't think what it could be.
Well... that's why I'm asking :D
 
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There likely wasn't a June gap (or even a 'June') before humans interfered. Think about it....
 
There you have it. Humans removed all the plants that can produce a significant flow in June.

Maybe like St. Patrick and the Irish snakes.


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There are a couple of fields of potatoes in full flower near me. I know bumbles will bumble around potato flowers, but does anyone know if honey bees get pollen or nectar from them? It's quite unusual to see potatoes round here, Regular crops are cereals, OSR, and silage.
 
My understanding of the the June gap, is that the perennial and biennial plants have a head start on the journey towards flowering because they were growing the previous year. Annuals on the other hand are just seeds waiting for the soil temps to warm in spring for germination to start and so flower later.
 
Annual, biennials, perennials?

What was the predominant flora before humans changed it? Woodland and thicket?
 
Annual, biennials, perennials?

What was the predominant flora before humans changed it? Woodland and thicket?

From where I get the yield from nature are all perennials. Rape on field is annual.

But gap has nothing to do with that.
 
June gap is a bit of a myth here. I have not had a gap yet this year except for a very bad spell of weather in spring. forage wise, brambles and Lime are still not finished completely and the sweet chestnut and clover is now full on. if there will be a gap it will be mid august until the Ivy sets in but some years I have a nice honeydew flow on then.
 
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To me June gap is important, because it is swarming time and hives do not have enough work. They swarm. Then, when flow begins again, hives stop swarming.

But if hives gave natural instinct to swarm, they really do it with gap or without gap.,

When gap is over, I move hives to outer pastures.
.

Most beekeepers do not understand, what is June gap, because they do not know, from where the yield comes.
 
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