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. | |
| Orange tree | Citrus aurantium | light amber | minor | minor | Honey is first grade with a characteristic excellent flavour and aroma. It candies readily with a whitish fine grain. | |||
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Parkinsonia | Parkinsonia aculeata | minor | Minor supporting species only. | |||||
| 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. |
|||
| 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. |
| 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. |
|||
| Citrus | Citrus sp. | light amber | minor | minor | fair | light | Flowers regularly with good pollen but as a support group only if there are insufficient plantings. |
| 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 | Lophostemon citriodora | 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. |
||||
| 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. |
||
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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.