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1. The History of
BeeKeeping
2. Anatomy of a Bee
3. The Brood Rearing Process
4. Queen, Worker & Drones Behavior
5. Races of Bees
6. Nectar and Pollen Plants of Pacific Northwest
7. Beekeeping Equipment & Hive Assembly
8. Selecting the apiary site
9. Packaged Bees and how to care for them
10. How to Manage Bees
11. Swarming, causes and control
12. How to hive a swarm
13. Removing and Extracting the Honey Crop
14. Wintering the Hive
15. Colony treatment for bee disease & mite control
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LESSON 6:
Nectar and Pollen Plants of the
Pacific Northwest
You will be quite surprised at how many plants produce a surplus of nectar and pollen for the bees. For this section we will be focusing on the Pacific Northwest region. For your local region it is best to research what types of nectar and pollen plants your bees will be visiting and is there enough to sustain the hive. Remember a bee can travel up to 5 miles to find nectar but they can be more efficient if the plants are near by.
There are great differences in honeys depending on what type of plants the bees visit. The color and flavors of the honey will vary tremendously from light amber to dark and mild to strong flavors. Successful beekeepers learn to manage their bees so as to harvest only the best grades of honey. Some plants that bees visit will cause a lower grade honey and affect the flavor.
There are many factors that determine the nectar flow of a plant. Soil types, irrigation practice, quantity of rainfall, elevation, temperature and wind all have huge impacts on how much nectar a plant will give off. The more nectar there is from a plant means more honey to the bee, so finding goods plants that have a surplus of nectar is important.
Main Honey Plants in the Pacific Northwest
- Oregon Grape - April, pollen and nectar
- Cotton Wood - April, pollen
- Willow - April, pollen and nectar is warm
- *Maple Large Leaf - April-May, pollen and surplus nectar
- *Poison Oak - May, nectar surplus
- *Snowberry (Buckbrush) - May-June, surplus
- *Vine Maple - May, surplus
- Cherry Tree - April, nectar and mainly pollen
- Deciduous Fruit Trees - April-May, mainly pollen
- Mustard - March, pollen
- Fire Weed - July-August, no pollen and variable nectar
- Raspberry - June, surplus
- *Blackberry - June-July, nectar and pollen
- Thistle - June, nectar and pollen
- *Cascara - May-June, nectar
- Cabbage - May, pollen and nectar
- Crimson Clover - May, pollen and nectar
- White Clover - June-July, pollen and nectar
- Madrene - May, nectar
- Manzanita - May, pollen and nectar
- Dill (oil) - July, pollen and nectar
- *Harry Veteh - May-June, surplusnectar
Honey Plants in Eastern Pacific Northwest (Dryer Regions)
- Dandelion - Spring, pollen and nectar
- *Alfalfa - June-August, pollen and nectar
- Red Clover - June-August, pollen and nectar
- *White Clover - June-August, pollen and nectar
- Mint - August-September, pollen and nectar
- *Sage - September, pollen and nectar
* Indicates best surplus sources of nectar
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