Honeybee on Eurphorbia Myrsinites (aka Spurge Eurphoria "Donkey Tail")
The groundhog predicted an early spring, but it's been the usual mixed bag of warmer days and freezing nights. We lost one hive this winter but the rest are going strong. Fall was a chaotic time, with the cold weather not starting until late. With the head beekeeper away at college, we were down a body and thus winterizing and inspections took more than twice as long. It is not good to have a hive open long in the fall, when things are winding down because of robbing and thus the apiary inspections/work, usually complete within 3 hours, was extended over two days to minimize robbing and irritation to the colonies.
We had a bumper crop of honey in October, and the fall honey was a rich, dark amber-molasses color. This color is typical of the wildflower boneset, of which there is a delicious crop within eyesight of the apiary. The bees love boneset and thus the fall honey has switched from the traditional goldenrod of years past now to boneset. The dry weather in July 2023 seriously hampered the goldenrod nectar; most do not realize that if there is a drought, the nectaries do not develop properly and thus while flowers are still visible, there is no nectar for the bees. This is the second year in a row that the goldenrod has largely been a failed wildflower crop.
Honey is graded according to color, and to my surprise, the darker the color, the lower the grade. The classic clover honey color is the highest grade color, and darker colors are typically downgraded. This has more to do with consumer expectation, but the fact is, the darker the honey, the more delicious it is. A few years ago, our bee mentor gave us a jar of his japanese knotweed honey, which is as dark as molasses and has a rich, complex flavor. Our boneset honey is our new favorite around here. One of the fun things about honey is that it's a lot like wine; it can be quite different from year to year. Our spring honey for instance is now predominantly from fruiting trees rather than the dandelions of earlier years, and our summer honey is now less sage and more coneflowers, euphorbias, sedums, and of course the bees' favorite oregano.
We like all the honeys; the lighter spring honey has a delicate flavor that is really nice in green tea and herbal teas, as well as in baking when sweetness is desired but not necessarily a strong honey flavor. Summer honey is great for everything, and we like it drizzled over goat cheese and figs, or as a sweet and hot dip for fish. We grow our own chili peppers and infuse our own "hot honey", If you like southeast Asian food such as Thai, hot honey is a great substitute for the "sweet and hot" chili sauce that is ubiquitous in Singapore, Malaysia, etc. Fall honey is wonderful in fermented teas, and on buttered toast or drizzled over a peanut butter sandwich.
Speaking of sandwiches, I took the photo of our bee in the e. myrsinites yesterday as I was cleaning up the flowerbeds, and my reward after 3 hours of cleaning garden debris was a peanut butter-honey sandwich, on our famous sourdough French bread. 9 years ago, this very sandwich was the inspiration for the head beekeeper's desire to be a beekeeper in the first place and sent us on this wonderful journey. Beekeeping has been our way of spending time together, learning together and enjoying nature together. Beekeeping is not a solitary activity and I will not lie, it was less fun by myself. The head beekeeper will be back by the end of April, just in time for spring honey. I am looking forward to his return. He is looking forward to joint inspections again. He misses all the women in his life!
Disclaimers: Blog posts are opinions, not advice. One thing all beekeepers will agree on, is that if you ask 10 beekeepers what to do, you'll get 13 different answers. Beekeeping is alchemy, nature, and a bit of magic.
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