I want to get that new book that has just come out on the different trees from SE Qld down to Victoria/ Tasmania? Pretty pricey but i think it would be a great addition for finding out what trees are around for the bees. Honey and Pollen Flora of South-Eastern Australia. All the natives start to look the same… i just end up saying bottlebrush most the time
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Quite an expensive book. Suggest you take it out from your library first and then decide whether to buy it.
That’s the strategy I use.
There are some good free publications on honey trees from Stae and federal Agricultural Depts
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Sorry for lack of photo’s but I have a large amount of Pink Bloodwood -( Corymbia intermedia I believe) flowering at the moment. The thing is that euro bees just don’t seem interested. Anybody else noticed this? Everything else loves the blossoms - flying foxes , lorikeets and countless native bees but not a single honey bee in sight. They are definitely still around as I have seen them in palm trees seeking pollen and we are well within range of around 100 odd commercial hives as well as my own hives and numerous feral hives. We are at the end (hopefully) of the worst drought in over 100 years so there is nothing else flowering although we have had a good run of honey flow up till now. Weather conditions are very tolerable here on the coast from Rockhampton in central Qld with daily temperatures from 22-29 degrees c . Just can’t understand why there is not a single bee after the blossoms? Any ideas / other observations?
I would like to think that we are seeing the end of the drought but for me that is nothing but wishful thinking Paul.
If your bees are not going for the Pink Bloodwood then they must be working on something more suitable for them, In the past I have watched my bees fly past trees in heavy flower so I assume there is better foraging further away.
Did you cop the bush fires up your way?
Cheers
They are a known source of nectar so either the flowers are drought dry or as Peter48 says, they have a another source.
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Yeah it’s an odd one. I’m on a 500 acre property so have a good idea of what is flowering and when. Carbeen have just finished and spotted gum and gum-top box aren’t far off starting but really there’s nothing else although I guess we’re close enough (4km) from mangroves so that could be it. Most of the trees are on creek banks and have heights up to 40metres and root systems to match so they still have their ‘feet’ in moisture - besides everything else is after the blossoms so they can’t be that dry. I guess it’s nice to see the native bees get a break from the competition . My native hives are absolutely powering at the moment.
No fires here though it wouldn’t matter much now as there is almost no feed left for the cattle. Have started feeding hay for the first time in 50 years.
An old local bushie told me 2 months ago that it mightn’t rain until March. He bases his forecasts on wind direction (mostly easterlies atm when we should be getting northelies for storms or south easterlies for showers and rain). Hard to believe that he may be right.
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Interesting about what the bushie said… chances are it could be very true… I follow Higgins on FB as the seem to get most predictions right and fingers crossed with this prediction. i think i like how they explain it in more detail. - Let us start 2020 off with some positive news! The Indian Ocean Dipole that stuffed up rainfall across Australia in the second half of 2019 has now gone. A positive phase Madden-Julian Oscillation will push East into the Maritime Continent during the next 2 weeks which will assist the Monsoon Trough to develop across Indonesia (yellow circled area). The combination of these 2 weather patterns will lead to an increased risk of Tropical Low and Tropical Cyclone development across Northern Australia over the next few weeks (red circled areas). The main areas at this stage that are forecast to see increased rain, storm and tropical activity are the Northern NT, Northern and Western WA.
During the second half of January the MJO is expected to push further East thus increasing the monsoon trough and tropical development across the Gulf Of Carpentaria and Coral Sea. Depending on where tropical systems develop and track, they could easily bring significant rainfall to large parts of QLD.
The patterns are FINALLY changing and indicating wetter times ahead across the Northern half of Australia!.
I guess we will soon see. i am new to beekeeping and really cant wait to see a good amount of rain and high flows come along for the bees. although we have had a fair bit since Christmas maybe up to 100mm and lots flowering and plenty of nectar getting stored so hopefully that has brought it on a bit.
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That maybe but you know a hell of a lot about the weather. 
Thats got to count. 
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@busso Gee, your one up on me John, I figure tomorrow will be much like today - no rain again, no nectar in the flowers and about the same temperature, darn hot. Bugger that I usually get it right. 
Cheers guys
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Hi Peter48…so you’re still here!
I have been wondering about the amount of nectar in the flowers. We have a Nth QLD lilly pilly in the garden which is in flower, and the bees are on it for the nectar but the flowers are quite dry. I wonder what else the bees are drinking/eating? They are in our Veg patch - on the corn - which we don’t need because they are wind pollinated. What else?
Hi John. Thanks for the forcast.
The moderators blocked the offender ife from the forum and I got so many messages of support that I decided to get involved again on the forum.
With the drought being declared over 90% of Australia bees are finding it tough to even meet their own needs.
Tomatoes are a real favorite for bees in a garden as are cucumbers, squash, pumpkin, and any other garden plant that requires pollination. But the garden might be ignored for a better supply of richer and/or more nectar. Remember a bee will fly up to 5K’s for a good nectar sauce. I’m not one for becoming a gardener simply for the benefit of bees but if they are both things you enjoy then that is great.
You might find a dearth down there from the bush, I spent a few days with bee keepers on the Gold Coast and up on the mountains there and most had a dearth without being aware of it, all they knew was the hives were not building up in numbers as they had previous Springs. The Australian bush can be misleading where you will see heaps of trees in flower because it is there flowering season but it is also often that the flowers are dry and don’t contain nectar, or in a real heat wave the moisture in the nectar can evaporate.
Cheers
I wonder if you have a commercial Blue Berry grower down there who would like to host a few hives, bees work them really well with a good return for the grower and the bee keeper.
Thanks John, we can only hope that something will come of that forecast. It is a lot better than the guy from the BOM saying there is nothing in their forecast to lessen the bush fire season going thru till April. On the TV this morning a warning to those in Melbourne about the smoke and air pollution being worse today than the the worst industrial city in India or China - who would have thought 
Cheers