Heather?? Clover?? Clover?? Heather??

[Hoomin_erra]

The heather is starting, but the fields around are overflowing with clover.

I assume that getting heather honey will be a bit difficult?
Which are bees gonna go for as a priority? Heather or clover?

[Calum]

Bees being very lazy creatures will go for whichever is closer/easier/less of a gradient.

[GRIZZLY]

The bees will go for whichever plant has the highest sucrose content in the nectar.When we used to go to fruit polination in the south of England we used to have to make sure that the orchards had been mowed to cut down the dandelions which had a much higher sugar content,otherwise the bees would work that and the poor farmers trees wouldn't yeild so highly in the autumn.

[Hoomin_erra]

So which is higher?

[gavin]

Bees can also be a bit random. Some colonies might get the taste for one or the other and focus on it whereas others might work both. Also the conditions that plants need vary and clover likes it hot for example.

But perhaps the best answer is that a clover-heather blend is delicious!

You may be able to partially separate any mixture at harvest as heather is a rich amber colour and clover pale and they may have focused on the two at different times.

[Trog]

That's very true. I had a colony one year which was specialising in blackcurrants and opening the hive was like taking the roof off a ribena factory! None of the others had this scent.

I'll be a little surprised if I get a crop of honey at all this year, as I've concentrated on trying to increase stocks. The wet July actually left 5 colonies starving, so I'm having to feed them!