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  • The Colour of Honey

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #2101  by MickBBKA
 24 Feb 2019, 23:17
NigelP wrote:
22 Feb 2019, 15:35
A quick look seems to suggests the dark stuff is mainly two pollen types about 50:50 (or I'm looking at the same pollen in different orientations........but no blur on the round tyope suggests no . .Haven't a clue what they are, the sausage shaped one could be Horse Chestnut as the grains elongate in honey....but it's a May/June Flowerer.....and this honey is from Late July in North Yorkshire.
Ho Hum,....the joys of pollen identification.

Image
One on the left looks like Field Bean to me with my very limited experience, or one of the Hog Weeds, what size is it ?

That is my suggestion O master of the microscope slides ;)

Cheers, Mick.
 #2102  by TimCH
 25 Feb 2019, 09:17
Glad this issue has been raised as I too have a crop from summer 2018 which was as dark as Nigels. All my previous summer crops (about 7 years) having been consistently like the paler example.
From observation, rather than any analysis, I think the main nectar influence may have been thistles which were more numerous in my North London patch but also able to pump nectar during the "peak drought" conditions of high summer.
I'm no botanist but Creeping, Marsh, and some of the taller standing Thistles were a lifeline for my bees and coped well with the high temperatures and lack of moisture when all else was frazzled.
 #2104  by NigelP
 25 Feb 2019, 15:58
Mick, there are lots of different sausage shaped pollen's, wild carrot, cow parsley, hogweed etc. It's not broad bean as the honey has a greenish tinge, and that is what my early to mid July honeys have a lot of...
This sample was late July, field of broad beans had stopped flowering. My gut feeling is honydew....but will need to concentrate a sample to see if the characteristic soot/fungal hyphae are present. All I've done so far is smear some honey on a microscope slide.
 #2115  by Gerry
 25 Feb 2019, 22:41
The pollen on the left is neither Field/broad bean or hogweed both of which I am familiar with. In my opinion it is H. Balsam but Balsam honey is certainly not dark so the darkcolour must be from another source. Last year my dark honey came from sweet chestnuts.