Is it worthwhile to put my bees near a huge flowering Bougainvillea tree?
20km away is a tree where the owner is OK for me to try my hives there.
Have looked online and found nothing.
Any experience?
Thanks
I’ve been keeping an eye on the bougainvillea round me and haven’t seen bees on it but it has a long flowering period, so there may be a period where it produces nectar and pollen that I have missed.
Bees forage quite some distance, 2 miles if needed so if it is attractive they will find it
Would like to know how it goes, have always loved bougainvillea except for the thorns!
Unfortunately, it looks like bees can’t access the nectar - I have never seen bees around ours, but I have seen hummingbirds and hummingbird moths. Here is the info I found:
The flower’s trumpet shape and long throat are designed for specific pollinators; namely butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. A long tongue (or proboscis in the case of butterflies or moths) is needed to access the nectar stored near the flower’s base, so bees and wasps aren’t typically interested in bougainvillea.
copied from http://www.civanonursery.net/2014/05/22/all-about-bougainvillea-flowers/
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Hey Dawn
Thanks for that.
May give the idea a miss.