An associated point relates to phenology, trees in England generally flower in spring, whereas members of the Cistaceae (Helianthemum, mainly) would be in the summer, and Erica slightly later. So, a honeybee would be unlikely to have access to all these resources all at once, even if they were local (though I suppose there might be a cumulative effect of variety through the year).

I actually found it very interesting to discover that honeybees collect pollen from anemophilous tree genera such as Quercus (according to a study in the journal Grana, this pollen can make up a significant part of a hive’s pollen collection), it certainly makes one think a bit more about the strength of flower syndromes for attracting pollinators.

It would be interesting to take some hives into the middle of at least a kilometre or so of homogeneous habitat, choosing vegetation communities across a range of species richnesses (Kew > limestone grassland > heathland, for example), then see what happens to those GOX levels,,,

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