What Happens When the Yellow Fields Disappear?

What Happens When the Yellow Fields Disappear? Understanding the June Gap & Why Our Bees Stay Local

A few weeks ago, the countryside around the apiary looked completely different.

Large stretches of bright yellow oilseed rape covered the fields, and the bees were bringing forage back steadily every day.

At this time of year, everything can feel like it’s building quickly.

The colonies expand fast, brood increases, and the hives become noticeably busier almost week by week.

Then, almost as quickly as it arrived, the yellow starts to disappear again.

That’s one of the things you notice with beekeeping.

The season never really stands still for long.

More Than Just Yellow Fields

Oilseed rape is one of the biggest spring forage sources for bees across many parts of the countryside.

When it flowers, colonies can build strongly in a short space of time because nectar and pollen become widely available all at once.

But once the flowering period ends, things naturally begin to change again.

The bees have to adjust.

And so do the beekeepers.

What Is the June Gap?

Many beekeepers refer to this point in the season as “the June Gap”.

It’s the period between the large spring nectar flows finishing and the main summer forage beginning properly.

For a while, there can be less forage available for the bees compared to earlier in spring.

To people outside of beekeeping, the landscape may still look green and full of life.

But inside the hive, the change can be noticeable.

That’s why spring build-up is so important.

Strong colonies going into this period are usually much better prepared to manage the natural slowdown before summer forage fully arrives.

For us, these changing forage conditions are part of what makes each season’s honey unique.

The flavour, texture and even colour of the honey often reflects exactly what the bees have been foraging on throughout the changing landscape around them.

Why We Keep Our Bees Local

Many fantastic beekeepers move their hives around the country following different crops and seasonal forage.

It’s a traditional part of beekeeping for many businesses and can produce beautiful single-origin honeys from crops such as borage or heather.

But our philosophy at Stax Of Wax Ltd has always been slightly different.

For us, local matters.

Rather than moving our bees long distances throughout the season, we prefer allowing them to forage naturally across the landscape around us here in Lincolnshire.

The hedgerows, trees, gardens, wildflowers and changing seasonal forage all become part of the honey and part of the story behind each season.

Over time, the bees become familiar with the environment around them, and we prefer allowing them to work naturally within the landscape they already know.

It keeps things simpler and helps reduce unnecessary stress on the colonies.

There’s something honest about that.

Following the Seasons Naturally

Once the oilseed rape finishes flowering, the bees don’t simply stop working.

They begin searching further across the local landscape for what comes next.

Hedgerows begin opening up more.

Wildflowers become increasingly important.

Trees, clover, bramble and garden flowers all start playing their part.

The forage changes gradually throughout the season, and the colonies adapt with it naturally.

That’s one of the reasons no two seasons ever feel identical in beekeeping.

The bees are always responding to what the environment around them is doing.

Preparing the Colonies Properly

One of the most important parts of spring management is making sure colonies are healthy and strong before this seasonal shift happens.

The hive inspections earlier in the season become important for exactly this reason.

Checking brood development, stores, space and overall colony health early on helps ensure the bees are in a strong position moving into summer.

Thankfully, after a good spring build-up, many of our colonies are currently looking strong with plenty of stores available.

That strong start matters.

Everything later in the season tends to build from there.

Working Alongside Other Local Businesses And Farmers

Part of keeping things local also means working alongside other businesses who share similar values around sustainability and the environment.

Our apiary at Hill Copse currently sits on Eco Green Compost land, where the surrounding environment and green practices fit naturally alongside what we try to achieve with the bees.

Both currently and in previous years, we’ve also built good relationships with local farmers, helping ensure our bees have strong sites to flourish upon throughout the season.

Simple things like good hive placement, shelter and maintaining healthy surroundings all play a part in supporting strong colonies throughout the changing seasons.

Every Season Changes the Apiary

One thing beekeeping teaches very quickly is that the landscape is never static.

A field that looked bright yellow a few weeks ago can suddenly become green again almost overnight.

The bees adjust.

The forage changes.

And the season continues moving forward.

That constant change is part of what keeps beekeeping interesting year after year.

There’s always something new happening somewhere within the hive or across the landscape around it.

Everything Starts Outside

It’s easy to focus only on the finished jar of honey or the products made from the hive.

But so much of it starts outside long before that.

In the flowering hedgerows.

In the changing fields.

In the trees, wildflowers and forage that shift throughout the season.

The bees simply follow what nature gives them at that particular moment in time.

The more time you spend around bees, the more you realise they already know exactly what they’re doing.

We often spend just as much time watching outside the hives as we do looking inside them.

The flight paths change with the season. The pace changes with the weather. Some days they seem almost frantic with forage coming in, and other days calmer and slower.

Most of the time, the bees are already adapting long before we notice the landscape changing around them.

As beekeepers, a lot of the job is simply learning when to step in — and when to let the bees carry on doing what they naturally do best.

What they produce along the way becomes the honey and beeswax we share from our hives here in Lincolnshire.

You can explore our current seasonal honey and beeswax range here

Honey Range

Beeswax Candle Range

— Stax Of Wax Ltd 🐝