This visit was the last sampling round of the summer. The honey samples we collect from the beehives contain eDNA from the plants visited by the bees on their foraging trips to the nearby nature. The samples tell us which plants the bees have visited and provide information about the biodiversity of the Ruoholahti area and the range of food sources available to the bees.

In the picture you can see wax honeycomb built by the bees. The bottom part of the comb is fresh nectar that still needs to be dried into thicker honey which the bees will seal into the combs with a wax cap as seen on the top part. By collecting the samples from the border between fresh and capped honey, we can be sure that the eDNA is from newly collected honey and represents the plants our bees have visited during the last couple of weeks.

Summer finally started in July and the hives have been thriving in the warm weather, with forager bees making the most of sunny days to collect nectar from city trees and gardens. This time of the summer their beelines often lead to the linden trees that are in full bloom by mid July.

Lindens that line our city streets are prolific nectar producers and they give the urban honey it’s signature minty aftertaste 🌳🍯