Reproduced from Blake ST and Roff C. 1987. Honey Flora of Queensland 3rd Edition, Department of Primary Industries Queensland, Brisbane.
See also additional species of interest below. Additional information provided by Mike James.
Common name | Scientific name | Colour of honey | Importance as honey source | Importance as pollen source | Honey flavour | Honey density | Blake & Roff comments | Members comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poplar gum | Eucalyptus platyphylla | medium amber | minor | medium | pleasant | moderate | Flowers lightly most years. In the Townville district, however, about every four years it produces an abundance of pollen. | Irregular producer of nectar, about one year in four. Regular pollen supplier, but needs winter rain to produce nectar. |
Brown's box (Reid River box) | Eucalyptus brownii | extra light amber | medium | medium | good | heavy | Irregular producer between Townsville and Charters Towers | Similar to and often growing with E. normantonensis. |
White stringybark | Eucalyptustindaliae | medium amber | moderate | strong | moderate | Honey froths when heated. Due to insufficient pollen, colonies sometimes dwindle alarmingly. | ||
Blue gum | Eucalyptus tereticornis | light amber | moderate | major | pleasant | moderate | In most seasons bees build well on this tree. | Produces only when flowering is delayed by late cool winter weather. |
Weeping tea tree | Melaleuca leucadendra | light amber | medium | medium | strong | light | Flowers regularly. | |
Turnip weed | Rapistrum rugosum | |||||||
White clover | Trifolium repens | light amber | minor | Medium | good but mild | light | Sown in pastures and depending on suitable rains, provides a good build for bees. |
By Mike James
Common name | Scientific name | Colour of honey | Importance as honey source | Importance as pollen source | Honey flavour | Honey density | Members comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wattles | Acacia sp. | nil | minor | Bees can collect pollen, but it is considered to have poor protein content. | |||
Casuarinas | Casuarina sp.; Allocasuarina sp. | minor | minor | Bees collect copious quantities of pollen in some seasons. Pollen is cream coloured and the rust like material at the hive entrances are husks which are discarded. | |||
Coconut palm | Cocos nucifera | ||||||
Pumpkins | Cucurbita maxima | medium amber | nil to minor | major | light | Bees obtain good supplies of pollen (highest protein levels available to bees) from most pumpkins. | |
Other cucurbits | Cucurbita sp. | With the exception of pumpkins, cucurbits seem of little benefit to bees, but cucumbers can be useful. | |||||
Lemon-scented gum | Corymbiacitriodora | minor | medium | Close cousin to southern Spotted gum. It has a long bud growing period and can flower any month of the year. | |||
Narrow-leaf ironbark | Eucalyptus crebra | extra white to light amber | minor to major | Medium to major | choice | heavy | Heavy but erratic producer, about one year in five. |
Normanton box | Eucalyptus normantonensis | Light amber | medium | minor | Most responsive to ground moisture. Bees can build to swarming strength when pollen is collected from another source. | ||
Inland bloodwood | Eucalyptus terminalis | minor | Needs checking. Extensive west of Charters Towers. Most pleasant of the bloodwoods. Has an unusually long flowering period. | ||||
Grevillea | Grevillea sp.; hybrids esp. \'93Robyn Gordon\'94 | amber | minor | nil | Grevilleas are often planted to attract nectar eating birds but of no major benefit to bees. | ||
Soapy tea-tree | Melaleuca dealbata | medium amber | minor | minor | poor | light | Support species only. |
Paper-bark tea-tree | Melaleuca quinquenervia | extra light amber to dark amber | major | major | poor | light | High yielding tree in southern Queensland but production is unreliable north of Rockhampton. Candies readily. |
Red bottle brush | Melaleuca viminglis | medium amber | minor to major in town | medium to major | fair | light | Small stands along most creeks, but street planting is a help. |
Pigweed | Portulaca bicolor | major | Occurs mainly in headland areas cultivated for irrigated crops. |