22 PLANTS MOSTLY PREFERRED BY HONEYBEES?

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Melliferous plants are those plant preferred by honey bees to get the nectar and pollen which they use to make honey and other bee products. The forage sources for honey bees are an important consideration for professional beekeepers.

Forest trees are important bee forage naturally and forests are essential for the survival of bees.

Remember No trees, no bees: no honey, no money.

Bees can travel to a max. of 4 km radius for nectar and pollen. Shorten the distance for them.

Conserving forest biodiversity is therefore important for beekeepers. The Forest trees native to Africa that are important for bees include among others:-

1. Acacia species( nilotica, melifera etc)
2. Calliandra species(Callindra callothyrsus)
3. Azadirachta species( indica)
4. Eucalyptus (almost all Eucalyptus sp)
5. Dombeya species
6. Combretum species
7. Diospyrus species
8. Julbernardia globiflora
9. Pentaclethra macrophylla
10. Vernonia amygdlina

 

There are commercially available and major sources of forage for bees to produce excellent honeys, and can flower all year round. The following are examples of such plants: 

1. Sunflower (Helianthus spp.),
2. Musa sp.(banana)
3. Black berry (Rubus argutus), 
4. Citrus (Citrus spp.) e.g. tangerine and orange, 
5. Coffee (Coffee spp.)
6. Clover (Trifolium incarnatum), 
7. Cotton (Gossypium spp.), 
8. Mango (Mangifera indica), 
9. Cashew(Anacadinaceae), 
10. Banana (Musa sp.), 
11. Bottle brush(Calistamon spp)
12. Passion fruit( Passiflora spp)

Bees forage on different flowers in different areas depending on what is available. Most plants flower only at certain times of the year but bees need food over many months, so a variety of plants must be available.

It is a good idea to identify which plants bees feed on in your area. It is then possible to plant flowering plants around apiaries to ensure the bees have adequate forage when they need it. Wild plants should be allowed to grow wherever there is space, including by the side of roads, near houses and in between fields.

Produce a flowering calendar listing the flowers that are available each month of the year.

Take-away:

Beeekeepers and farmers MUST ensure that there is sufficient year-round forage. This can ensure good, constant flows of honey and beehives will not abscond (leave the hive in search of better sources of forage). Bees prefer a constant temperature of 32 to 35 oC in their hives, so placing hives under trees or hunging in trees provides shade to avoid hives over-heating.

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Source: National Bee Keeping Training and Extension Manual, 2012