Bee swarm collection in North Ayrshire

Hawthorn is the spring anchor on the Garnock valley field boundaries and the coastal farmland strips from mid-May. White clover dominates the mid-summer flow on the improved pastures around Irvine, Kilwinning and the coastal plain; the Eglinton Country Park lime and sycamore woodland provide the main structured town forage from June through July. Himalayan balsam has colonised the Garnock Water, Annick Water and River Irvine corridors, producing a sustained late-summer flow from mid-July into September. Gorse and broom are prolific on the rough hillside ground above the coast towns; heather starts on the Renfrewshire hill fringe above Beith and Kilbirnie from mid-July. The coastal grassland carries bird's-foot trefoil and sea clover through the full summer months.

North Ayrshire Beekeepers' Association, affiliated to the Scottish Beekeepers' Association, covers the mainland and the islands. The Clyde coast microclimate is noticeably mild and the season runs from early April on sheltered south-facing slopes. The Eglinton and Kilbirnie Loch areas are productive; some members move colonies to the Renfrewshire moorland fringe in late July for a heather crop. Arran and Cumbrae have their own beekeeping communities supported by the mainland association.