Beekeeping with Willie: 'the hills are alive with blooming heather'

Beekeepers have removed the main honey crop for 2024. Despite the poor season, bees did produce a small surplus.

The beekeepers who have the Native Irish Honeybee probably fared out better, since these bees can eke out a living in challenging circumstances.

The ling heather produces some of the finest honey, and for some beekeepers it is an opportunity to produce extra. It comes into flower in August, nicely timed, following the main honey crop from blackberry and clover.

Any colonies not destined for heather honey production will, once the main crop of honey is removed, have been checked for the presence of a laying queen, good brood pattern and absence of disease before being given a feed of syrup to bolster their winter stores.

A number of beekeepers take colonies of bees to the heather every year. They will have this move in their sights during May and early June, when they select colonies which will be suitable for the heather honey crop.

Bee colonies required to collect nectar from ling heather (Calluna vulgaris) must be very strong, with a packed brood chamber consisting of bees and brood.

Where the brood chamber of the beehive is packed, bees will not be able to store surplus heather honey in it and so will store it in the honey supers above them.

Beekeepers going to the heather ensure that their honeybee colonies have a current year’s queen, which is in full lay. The idea here is that new queens continue to lay eggs later into the year than older ones, producing brood much later into the season.

Nectar

New queens produced in May and June are ideal for this purpose. They are used in colonies destined for heather honey production, giving them the best chance of collecting quantities of nectar.

Ling heather began to bloom during the last week of July this year. Within a couple of weeks, the hills were alive with blooming heather. Daytime temperatures, with good sunshine and rain-free for almost three weeks gave bees a great start.

Standing beside beehives during the heather nectar flow is a pleasurable experience. Bees ignore the bystander as they frantically land at the hive entrance, laden with heather nectar. The late evening hum and heather scent from the hives is a reassurance that bees have taken in some precious heather nectar.

As I write, the weather has broken, putting an end, perhaps temporary, to the nectar flow. It is generally accepted that ling heather produces nectar in vast quantities for a short period, given the right conditions.

Should a break in the weather occur, it is likely no further major nectar flow will take place, although, some nectar will be produced.

Honeybee colonies on the heather, despite filling the honey supers for the beekeeper, do actually store a surplus for themselves within the brood chamber.

This surplus honey provides a winter food supply for the colony.

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