year round forage

[Pszczelarz]

Hello.
I was wondering if anyone had any links, that show an extensive list of plants favoured by honeybees throughout the year??

Thank you

 

[alldigging]

https://www.-------------/learn/gardening_for_bees


bbka. org .uk

 

[enrico]

What is also important to remember is that a honey bee will generally only visit a single type of flower in one flight. That means that for any bee to benefit from flowers they need to be en masses in one area. That is why honey bees prefer trees and crops in preference to the odd garden flower. Plant en masses and you will get more bees than scattering different plants around.
E

 

[Millet]

Not a list but this is a long flowering shrub that bees can benefit from through out the year.

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/gorse

 

[Pszczelarz]

Thanks!

Not a list but this is a long flowering shrub that bees can benefit from through out the year.

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/gorse

That is interesting, I never considered gorse as something to grow in a garden

 

[Eyeman]

If the colony is strong healthy and conditions are favourable then there are 3 periods in the year when we can remove and extract surplus honey.
The flowers that are providing our main 'flow' during these periods are:
1. Spring (Early April- end May) field maple:,sycamore: horse chestnut; Hawthorne; dandelion.
2. June (gap) : lime; privet; bramble.
3. Summer (July- ): willow herb; balsam.

There are many other plants in flower but these are the ones that give us our surplus honey.

 

[Anduril]

Not a list but this is a long flowering shrub that bees can benefit from through out the year.

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/gorse

It is only good for pollen, no nectar.

 

[Poly Hive]

Not so sure about that. I have smelt it on warm days and it has a strong perfume so I suspect it may well produce nectar. Just did a quick search and the opinion generally seems to be divided. Some say it does produce and some say nay.

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

It is only good for pollen

It is also a very good quality pollen.

 

[Millet]

It is only good for pollen, no nectar.

The bees have access to several good patches of Gorse and i have watched them working it many times over the past couple of years, yes they do gather pollen but they also gather something else when burying there heads into the flowers, i have seen bees on many occasions going from flower to flower with no pollen loads while gathering something else and then flying off, if you are 100% certain that it does not produce nectar maybe it is propolis, either way i do not care as long as the bees are benefiting from this long flowering shrub..

Edited to add this link which is 50/50 whether it produces nectar or not..

https://easywildflowers.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/ulex-europaeus-the-common-gorse/

 

[REDWOOD]

Definitely a coconut smell one a warm sunny spring day

 

[Swarm]

Definitely a coconut smell one a warm sunny spring day

Or is that the Ambre Solaire?

 

[Curly green fingers]

Hi my , girls haven't been tutching the gorse all summer but for the last couple of weeks they've been all over it.there's acres and acres of it up here. I think they get a little nectar but mainly really good pollen. There isn't much else flowering mainly gorse and ivy. Cheers c

 

[theeggman]

It is also a very good quality pollen.

I didn't think you had gorse up your way Pete, I thought we had the world's supply of the b'y stuff down here around Dartmoor. It seems to be in flower most of the year around here so it gives bees something to go at most times.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I didn't think you had gorse up your way Pete, I thought we had the world's supply of the b'y stuff down here around Dartmoor. It seems to be in flower most of the year around here so it gives bees something to go at most times.

No shortage of gorse here, masses of it, I like the gorse, but dislike the ever increasing miles of bracken choking everything, think you have even more of that stuff down your way on the moors, becoming a real problem.

 

[Anduril]

The bees have access to several good patches of Gorse and i have watched them working it many times over the past couple of years, yes they do gather pollen but they also gather something else when burying there heads into the flowers, i have seen bees on many occasions going from flower to flower with no pollen loads while gathering something else and then flying off, if you are 100% certain that it does not produce nectar maybe it is propolis, either way i do not care as long as the bees are benefiting from this long flowering shrub..

Edited to add this link which is 50/50 whether it produces nectar or not..

https://easywildflowers.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/ulex-europaeus-the-common-gorse/

I wouldn't have thought propolis, you would see it on the pollen baskets on the bees legs. Maybe they do collect nectar, but it may not be in quantity, may be temperature dependent. Anyone got close up ultraviolet pictures of gorse petals?