identifying honey variety or nectar sources

[tommy dave]

I've been wondering for a while about how to figure out the main components of my various multi-floral honeys.
some are simple:

• wellington hives, near masses of pohutukawa, crystallises into very fine crystals very quickly - pohutukawa
• water white late season after a big clover flowering, gave a frame to a proper beekeeper to taste test with no clues to origin, he gave it a hive tool scrape and taste - immediately stated "clover, what did you think it is?"

some less so. My pre-xmas extraction from a site with bees on kamahi, nodding thistle, cabbage tree, fuchsia, supplejack, and some clover is probably some sort of mix of those with some added things i didn't spot. I gave some away recently and they came back with "your honey is really nice, reminds me of acacia honey, which was my favorite back home in Serbia."

what's the best approach? i've read somewhere that there might be someone doing pollen analysis somewhere around the top of the south island? any other obvious approaches? send jars of honey to any beekeepers who back themselves to identify through taste-testing?

I'm thinking of getting the post-xmas extraction tested for manuka markers, bees were on plenty of kanuka but it was easy enough to extract the day after pulling it off the hive so must have had a few other things in it..

 

[yesbut]

? i've read somewhere that there might be someone doing pollen analysis somewhere around the top of the south island? any other obvious approaches? send jars of honey to any beekeepers who back themselves to identify through taste-testing?

@frazzledfozzle ???? Can you remember....the granddaughter is now doing it ?

 

[NickWallingford]

I believe you might be referring to Michael Wraight, who was beekeeping in Upper Moutere, but later moved into Motueka, I think. Michael had a real interest in pollen identification generally. He died several years ago. He was a nice guy, for sure...

 

[kaihoka]

ve been wondering for a while about how to figure out the main components of my various multi-floral honeys.

I had my honey pollen tested a few yrs ago.
Some flowers produce littled pollen so the floral percentages are not always accurate.
I extract my few frames of honey now by scraping off cappings and let frames drain in a warm room.
I have noticed this yr that quite a percentage of honey is not draining .
I had a big kanuka / manuka flowering

 

[stoney]

My pre-xmas extraction from a site with bees on kamahi, nodding thistle, cabbage tree, fuchsia, supplejack, and some clover is probably some sort of mix of those with some added things i didn't spot.

what's the best approach? i've read somewhere that there might be someone doing pollen analysis somewhere around the top of the south island? any other obvious approaches?

Why not just go with your own analysis as stated above? I recon it oozes with the romance and wonder of beekeeping when you actually have taken the time and have the interest to note of everything in bloom within range of your bees. Love it.