Bee swarm collection in Shetland Islands

Heather is the dominant forage plant of Shetland, covering the vast majority of the island landscape with bell heather and ling running from mid-July through September; the heather honey of Shetland has a distinctive strong character from the pure moorland sources. White clover on improved croft land in the valley bottoms and the more fertile western Mainland parishes provides the main June-to-July summer flow. Gorse — whin — is exceptionally abundant throughout Shetland from March into June, flowering earlier than most mainland sites thanks to the Gulf Stream influence, and providing critical early pollen and nectar for spring colony build-up. Sycamore in the sheltered town gardens and policies of Lerwick and Scalloway gives a productive May flow where trees are established. Bramble on disturbed ground and croft edges from July to August. Dandelion on roadsides and improved grassland in April and May provides early pollen. Ivy on older stone buildings in the more sheltered settings around Lerwick closes the season into October on mild years.

Shetland beekeeping is affiliated to the Scottish Beekeepers' Association through a small local group. The extreme latitude and Atlantic weather impose demanding conditions — long June days with barely-dark midsummer nights allow intensive foraging during good weather spells, but summer storms can confine colonies for days at a time. Shetland beekeepers tend to use locally adapted bees that handle the variable season, and hive management is necessarily conservative with stores. The distinctive heather honey is a noted product.