Different tasting honey...

[Bob Wilson]

The last two years, dearth began in early June. This year my friend's hives in the countryside are packing in honey. It is a very dark, sweet, buttery molasses flavor. Do you think it is from the corn (pic below) blooming earlier, or the Virginia Creeper vines in the trees around the field edges. The bees have been all over both of them.

[cao]

I've never heard of bees getting anything but a little pollen from corn when they are desperate.  My guess is that they are getting the honey from somewhere else.

[The15thMember]

I have noticed some dark honey in my hives lately too.  I don't know about the creeper, but I highly doubt it's the corn.  As cao mentioned, corn produces pollen, but it's not very nutritious, and I don't see how or why corn would produce any nectar.  As a wind pollinated plant, it's not looking to attract pollinators anyway, so nectar would be kind of a waste of energy for the plant. 

[iddee]

Sounds like there may be some buckwheat in bloom somewhere near.