Making Fennel Honey

The fennel is coming into full flower, and the bees have noticed.  Here’s one of several individuals I photographed hard at work on the north edge of the park on a windy afternoon.  I’m no melittologist, but I strongly suspect this is Apis mellifera, the Western Honey Bee.  I hedge that with caution because there are some 20,000 different kinds of bees and this species, Wikipedia advises, has numerous subspecies. There are several other insects that help to pollinate the fennel and I hope to photograph more of them in the days ahead.

Where is that bee going with that fennel pollen, and where is she making fennel honey?  A honey lovers’ website says, “Fennel honey is very hard to find.”  Jeff Bezos’ universal emporium totally strikes out on fennel honey.  Nada, zilch.  But a link from the honey website points at a source: the Bodegas Monje winery on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, a part of Spain located off the Atlantic coast of Morocco.  There you can purchase a small jar of fennel honey for €7.49, tax included, shipping extra.  The vendor describes it as a “Singular honey with a specialised taste with marked notes of liquorice and a dark amber colour with late crystallization.”

Similar Posts:

• Bee on the C and an E
• Now Blooming: Cleveland Sage