What's flowering: Queensland

[max2]

This is an interesting one..

The White Clover was pretty well finished.

We had a week of very mild summer weather with some showers every day...and the Clover has come back.

I have no idea how long it will last or if it will yield any nectar.

The next few days are still quite mild with more showers.

I had hoped to take some honey off and check on the Comb Honey frames but these showers are not the best for beework.

I stick to making up frames for now.

[max2]

Angophora  subvelutina is just starting to flower here.
They will flower through Januaray.

Not much honey and not the best but good pollen and plenty of it.

[max2]

Blue Gum -just noticed on a small branch a lot of little buds.
These trees will flower late Winter.
A long wait but positive

[max2]

I moved some bees from a brood box needing attention into a new box.
A lovely, calm hive bringing in loads of nectar and dark yellow pollen.

Looking around i noticed strips of Flatweed https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hypochaeris-radicata/

The bees love them.
The plant will grow best along rodsides even in gravelly soil - a tough plant.

For some reason i can not explain, Blackberries are flowering again.
This is the middle of our wet season but the last few weeks have been relatively dry. Great weather for bees >

[Lesgold]

The comb turns quite yellow from the flat weed. Bees seem to work it a lot this time of year. Not sure if it produces much nectar but a mate tells me that if there is nothing else coming in, the honey can be a little bitter. The beeswax from cappings  is often a brilliant yellow (I put it down to the flat weed)

[max2]

The comb turns quite yellow from the flat weed. Bees seem to work it a lot this time of year. Not sure if it produces much nectar but a mate tells me that if there is nothing else coming in, the honey can be a little bitter. The beeswax from cappings  is often a brilliant yellow (I put it down to the flat weed)

What I find very interesting is that one hive in a yard can have very yellow cappings and the hive next to it has " normal" coloured wax.

Our winters have been very mild in recent years - no hard frost- and i notice that Privit is creeping in.
The flowers stink and i wonder what the honey is like?

Up on the range with no frost the slopes are covered in privet. Lucky for me, our bees won't be venturing this far

[Acebird]

Looking around i noticed strips of Flatweed https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hypochaeris-radicata/

Looks like our dandelion.  My grandfather used to make wine from them.

[max2]

" looks like dandelion"

Dandelion has a single, hollow stem. Flat Weed has multiple stems.
The flower of Flatweed is smaller.

Growing up in Switzerland with an Italian mother we would collect Dandelion as a salad vegetable - all poor people did.
Today dandelion is served in upmarked restaurants!

My mother would serve it with oil/vinegar dressing with a par boiled egg...to take care of the bitterness.

To this day I dedicate a garden bed to Dandelion, Chicory and Rocket ( you may know it as " Arugula")

Farmers liked the dandelion in their pasture as it was increasing milk production.

[max2]

This is our wet season but it has not been very wet. Some showers - about 30mm of rain. Humid..

This is the time when trees may flower but the nectar /pollen is washed out before it is of any benefit to the bees.

We have a weed here " Cobblers peg" , also know as " Farmers Friend" - it has velcro type seeds which will attach to clothing.
One good , very positive aspect: it flowers 10 minutes after rain stopes..good honey and pollen as well, bees love it

[Lesgold]

I didn?t know that Max. I spend a lot of time pulling the darn stuff out. It?s a pretty invasive weed that loves to stick to bee suits and especially socks.

[max2]

It is a nuisance weed here too and people also pull it out...BUT great for bees.

need any seeds?

I watched your video were you are making foundations - I would love one of these embossers.

market tomorrow - all packed up, ready to go

[max2]

Just in case people don't know what we are talking about https://pollinatorlink.org/2015/02/04/the-treasure-in-the-jungle-of-weeds/

[max2]

While the start of the season was painfully slow - floods, too much rain..good b\nectar flows have been experienced in most areas since before Christmas  with avearage harvest around 120 to 150kg per hive.

Blood wood has ben a contributer in recent months.

Blue Gum is budding.

We need more rain this month for a productive Spring start and a good Clover flow

[max2]

Winter has not yet arrived - the bees are busy and honey is coming in...and the Blue Gum is budding like crazy.
Looking good for an early start to the next season

[Occam]

I had to look up what blue gum was, beautiful trees!

[max2]

Recent rain has helped the Clover along and I have seen the first flowers. It will be another few weeks...and more rain before we know that the Clover will contribute. last year the Clover was flowering realy well but the bees did not work the flowers.

Tallowwood is flowering - about a month early.

Blue Gum is , well, very close to flowering.

The Cobblers Pegs have not been killed off by frost in most areas so far.

It is mid winter and things can chage very quickly, but , so far, the outlook is very positive.

[max2]

29. 7. 23 I noted that the Jacobicabas are about to flower.
We need rain here for the Clover to take off

[max2]

Travelling South from here i noticed Blue Gum, Tallowwwod and Grey Gum ( I think) flowering near Glasshouse..

[Beelab]

Jabotikaba is sure flowering, and tallow is keeping on, started 6 weeks ago, over a month early.
Can?t see big gums flowering yet up at Mt Jerusalem.
Bit worried about early swarm season, as I?ll be away at Apimondia.

Everything seems to go to flower early this year.

[max2]

Mt Jerusalem? That is near Byron?

Yes, the smel of Jaboticaba is quite amazing.
Looks like we could get some rain. The Clover has started to flower. It would be lovely to see it doing well.
Where is Apimondia this time?