The June Gap

Beekeepers are very attuned to the changing season. In years gone by we would refer to the present time as "the June Gap"

In other words the spring flowers valuable for honey (such as willow, hawthorn, sycamore and chestnut) have come to and end and the summer flowers (such as clover, lime and blackberry) have yet to commence. The June Gap was that period of time, often about a fortnight, when the bees could find little nectar to bring home.

It is no accident that this time coincides with the time of maximum swarming.

Latter, with climate change, there has been a benefit to beekeepers in that the June Gap seems to be much reduced.

The spring honey flow flowers here have just about finished and as you can see from the photograph the wild white clover is all ready to take over.

Clover likes warmth and moisture to produce a lot of honey so here is hoping....