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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River mangrove | Aegiceras corniculatum | extra white | medium | major | distinctive, not unpleasant | light | Candies quickly with a fine white grain. Most valuable of the mangrove group. Heavy flowering in alternate years. | The nature of northern rivers allows only small stands which are inadequate for a honey flow. Candies readily with fine white grain. |
| Pink ash | Alphitonia petriei | light amber | major | major | fair | moderate | Probably the principal rainforest bee-forage plant. Produces a good supply of nectar and pollen every second or third year. | |
| Black sheoak | Casuarina littoralis | medium | Orange-brown flower particles at hive entrances indicate bees are working Casuarina | |||||
| White mahogany (white stringybark) | Eucalyptus acmenoides | medium amber | minor | major | strong | light | A supporting species on the Atherton Tableland. | |
| 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. |
| Red stringybark | Eucalyptus resinifera | medium amber | minor | major | strong | light | On Atherton Tableland in major flowering year a good support species. | |
| 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. |
| Moreton Bay ash (Carbeen, Stocking gum) | Corymbiatessellaris | minor | major | In Townsville district during the dry period this polen tree is valuable. | Honey is the most stringy of northern types. | |||
| Southern silky oak | Grevillea robusta | medium | On the Atherton Tableland this ornamental is a good source of pollen. | |||||
| Northern swamp box | Lophostemon grandiflorus | white | minor | minor | good | moderate | Produces heavily about one in ten years, particularly in a dry summer on the Atherton Tableland. Important in coastal districts and on the Atherton Tableland. | Produces heavily about one year in ten, particularly during dry summer. Needs creek to run before it quickly buds and flowers. |
| Swamp mahogany | Lophostemon suaveolens | extra white | medium | minor | good | moderate | Produces heavily about one in five years, particularly in a dry summer. Important in coastal districts and on the Atherton Tableland. | |
| Parkinsonia | Parkinsonia aculeata | minor | Minor supporting species only. | |||||
| Turpentine | Syncarpia glomulifera | extra light amber | minor | minor | strong unpleasant | moderate | Bitter flavour, spoils other honeys when blended. | |
| 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. | |||
| Sarsparilla | Alphitonia petriei | light amber | major | major | fair | moderate | Principle rain forest bee forage tree. Bees build well but tend to dwindle quickly when shifted to a site with poor pollen supplies. |
| Black bean | Castanospermum sp | amber | minor | nil to minor | Flowers regularly with some nectar. | ||
| 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. | |||||
| White stringybark | Eucalyptus acmenoides | medium amber | minor | major | strong | light | A strong support species north of Hervey\'92s Range. |
| Lemon-scented gum | Corymbia citriodora | minor | medium | Close cousin to southern Spotted gum. It has a long bud growing period and can flower any month of the year. | |||
| 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. | ||
| Ghost gum | Eucalyptus platyphylla | dark amber | minor | major | pleasant | moderate | In a good flowering year it is a good support species. It will not bud with insufficient ground moisture. |
| Hairy bloodwood | Corymbia setosa | dark to black | Common west of Charters Towers (occurs with E. papuana). Value to bees unknown. | ||||
| Inland bloodwood | Corymbiaterminalis | minor | Needs checking. Extensive west of Charters Towers. Most pleasant of the bloodwoods. Has an unusually long flowering period. | ||||
| Silver-leaf ironbark | Eucalyptus whitei | Needs early storm rains to produce nectar. | |||||
| Grevillea | Grevillea banksii | Most grevilleas are nectar producers, but in general there is insufficient nectar density to create a honey flow. There may be a sufficient plant population between Rollingstone and Bluewater for a honey flow in a dry year. | |||||
| 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. | ||
| Beefwood | Grevillea striata | minor | minor | woody | light | Reliable support species in Townsville district. Tree is to sparsely distributed to provide a honey flow. | |
| Brush box | Lophostemon confertus | extra white to light amber | minor | minor | choice | moderate | Other scrub trees flower at the same time, often spoiling this choice honey. |
| Swamp mahogany | Lophostemon suaveolens | extra white | medium | nil to minor | good | moderate | Produces heavily about one year in five, particularly in dry summer. Thin nectar is washed out by rain. |
| Soapy tea-tree | Melaleuca dealbata | medium amber | minor | minor | poor | light | Support species only. |
| Red bottle brush | Melaleuca viminalis | medium amber | minor to major in town | medium to major | fair | light | Small stands along most creeks, but street planting is a help. |
| White cedar | Melia azedarach | light amber | minor | minor | fair | light | Deciduous trees from rainforest margins which help provide a spring build-up. |
| Peltophorum | Peltophorum pterocarpum | amber to yellow | medium | major | fair | light | Useful source of pollen in town, bees build strongly and wax produced is orange. |
| Cockie apple | Planchonia careya | amber | minor | nil | very unpleasant | light | Honey is of strong and unpleasant character downgrading the flavor of any honey blended with it. |
| Pigweed | Portulaca bicolor | major | Occurs mainly in headland areas cultivated for irrigated crops. | ||||
| Umbrella tree | Schefflera (ex Brassaia) actinophylla | dark amber | minor | nil | fair | light | Bees can collect small quantities of this nectar which is nearly black. Bees work these flowers during rain. |
| African tulip | Spathodea campanulata | minor | Bees collect and are stimulated by the red stringy pollen. | ||||
| Yellow bells | Tecoma stans | amber to yellow | minor | minor to medium | Bees are attracted to nectar of this support species. |
The Townsville & District Beekeepers Association Inc is THE bee club for North Queensland.