We sent a sample of honey collected on the 27th August 2019 to the CEH, as part of the honey monitoring scheme (https://honey-monitoring.ac.uk/). The results have come back in Spring 2020, and show that our locally bred Apis mellifera mellifera (European dark bee) have a strong liking for Impatiens glandulifera, better known as the non-native invasive Hymalayan balsam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_glandulifera. Although the analysis of the bees’ diet at the end of August didn’t show a great variety, our 4 colonies have come through winter and, at time of writing, they are nicely building up, hopefully for a bumper honey harvest later in the year. If you would like to know more about our Eco Hives, or the detailed honey analysis results (see below), please contact Nadia: n.mazza@lancaster.ac.uk.

results2019