British beekeepers have long been aware of what is called
the ‘June Gap’, a few weeks in the year when you may need to feed your bees
simply because the amount of available forage is momentarily reduced. This is
due to the Spring flowers having died off and the summer flowers not yet fully
blossoming, just at the point when colonies are increasing in size and there
are lots of mouths to feed. It can affect the amount of surplus honey that is
available for the beekeeper to harvest at the end of the summer, as the bees
will not store the nectar they are collecting, opting to eat it now.
