>I've often wondered why blooms of specific plant species are visited some
years, but not every year.  Dutch clover was a major honey plant in northern
NY when I was young, but not now.  For the last several years, I've watched
it....no bees.  However, this year I see bees working the Dutch clover.
What is different?

Interesting topic.  I have certainly seen annual variation and some major
changes since I started keeping bees 30+ years ago.

Back then we saw a massive flow from oilseed rape and that merged with flows
from hawthorn and field beans that started when the rape was coming to an
end.  The rape would frequently produce 4 to 8 supers of honey per colony
and it was difficult to remove this to extract it before it granulated in
the comb because of the flow from hawthorn and beans.

Now a crop of 4 supers of rape honey is the exception and the hawthorn has
been virtually ignored for years - until this year when they seemed to be
working it again.

The variation in rape I can perhaps understand - new varieties with
different (earlier) flowering and neonicotinoid seed dressings could perhaps
be the answer; but hawthorn has not been changed by man, so it would seem to
me that climate and the attractiveness of other sources must play the
crucial rôle here.

Bees will naturally work whatever gives the best return, so if they are not
working a plant then it is either not offering much reward, or it is
repelling them in some way.  If they are working it but not storing much
honey then it may be that it is now a minor source, or the colonies are not
strong enough to exploit it because it is flowering at a different time.  So
many variables.

Best wishes

Peter 
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W

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