Hi guys and girls from central Otago 👋 got a bit of a surprise when I checked my hive yesterday (19th September) and my bee's are bringing in nectar 😳 bit of gorse pollen too but mostly nectar and I have no idea what it could be? I've been for a walk in the area I've seen them flying towards but I can't find anything. Willow catkins are still developing, and there's apricot blossom but it's only two trees about a kilometer distant, none of the other fruit trees are in blossom yet but are getting closer and I'm totally stumped. Anyone got any ideas?
Err where's that nectar coming from 😳
- Thread starter jos@centalotago
- Start date
kowhai was in flower down your way last week . If the honey tasts like chemicals thats it .
Any Five Finger or Fuchsia close by? That's flowering well down here in Southland and the bees love it.
No nothing like that here, it's pretty open and dry. I've got orchards inside the four kilometers of my bee's, but only apricot and almond blossom, peach is starting to open and plum is getting close too, Cherry isn't flowering close to the apairy, my neighbors have a tiny cherry block with a couple of apricot trees, so it's not that. Dynamite or cracking willow catkins just opened on the River banks properly today so it's not that either, grey willow is about a week away. Predominantly my area is thyme with a bit of wild budlier in a quarry pretty close but that's weeks away yet. I'm blowed if I know what it is😅
Next time I stick my nose in the colony I'll try it, but Ive only ever seen one kowhai close and that's at my neighbors place they have a tree
Maybe it's gorse thorn honey 😂 I'm starting to wonder if someone's hung sugar water feeders in the trees for the odd tuis and bellbirds that overwinter around here and I have absolutely no idea what they're eating to survive winter here but we have a small handful of nectar feeding birds, and my bee's are ripping sugar water feeders off😅that must blend well with privit