Snowdrop
One of the year's first flowers; on mild winter days it gives flying bees orange pollen and a little nectar, helping colonies start spring build-up.
- Nectar
- Low
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0.1-0.25 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
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Snowdrops are among the first flowers bees visit on late-winter days when the temperature rises above 10 °C. A little nectar is found in the green-marked grooves of the inner tepals; what really matters is the early fresh pollen.
Flowering
They flower in January-February at low elevations and in March-April in the mountains, once the snow has melted. Species found in Turkey include G. elwesii (western and southern mountains), G. woronowii and G. rizehensis (Black Sea region) and G. plicatus (northwestern Anatolia).
Honey and pollen
They do not contribute to honey production. The orange pollen loads are valuable in the wintering colony at the time the brood nest begins to expand.
Note for the beekeeper
Digging up and exporting snowdrop bulbs from the wild is legally restricted; do not collect them from nature. Planting nursery-grown bulbs around the apiary, especially under trees, creates a permanent early pollen source that multiplies over the years.