Johannesburg - National Honeybee Foraging Week launched on Monday and runs till September 29.
The week is aimed at ensuring the health and survival of honeybees across South Africa.
Why is this so important? As well as providing honey, the honeybee is the main pollinator of many agricultural crops, such as deciduous fruit, all oilseed crops, vegetables, and many fodder plants. Healthy honeybee colonies are, in fact, vital for food security.
Honeybees move from fruit tree blossoms, to spring wildflowers along roadsides and into flower gardens, pollinating food and garden plants in their search for food.
“A lack of good quality and variety of forage can lead to unhealthy honeybee colonies that are more susceptible to disturbances like pests and diseases. Weakened honeybee colonies are less effective in pollinating our crops,” says Mike Allsopp of the Agricultural Research Council’s Honeybee Research Section.
Our ever-expanding population with its resultant urban spread, destroys natural vegetation, including natural forage sources. This is a major concern for beekeepers.
Honeybees need access to a variety of flowering plants to provide food for their colonies at different times of the year. A study by the SA National Biodiversity Institute reveals that eucalyptus trees, certain crop species like sunflowers, canola, citrus and lucerne, as well as indigenous trees and shrubs, flowering plants and wildflowers are critically important in order for honeybees to build strong colonies.
Honey bees are also the pollinators of 60 percent of the flowering plants in South Africa. By choosing bee-friendly plant species you can also help preserve a number of plant species.
Create a bee-friendly garden
Spring is an excellent time to plant up a bee-friendly garden. Choose to add plants with flowers containing nectar for new plantings or replacing “tired” plants in your garden.
Even small townhouse and balcony gardens can help by providing a small but valuable feeding station in an urban environment. Landscapers can also take the needs of bees into account by planting up flowers on pavements, across business estates and in city parks.
Bees like a diversity in bee-friendly flowers, with large patches of a single species of flower. They also prefer a less manicured, more random garden.
Make your garden more attractive to bees by following these tips:
* Plant 10 or more different types of plants that attract honeybees. Plant several of each type of plant close together.
* If your plant choice is limited by space constrictions, rather choose plants with blue, yellow and purple-violet flowers – bees prefer these colours. Similarly choose scented flowers in preference to unscented blooms.
* Include some bee-attracting indigenous plants.
* Plant flowers that bloom at different times so you have pollen and nectar sources throughout the year.
* Sink shallow pans of water in your garden – birdbaths and ponds are too deep for them.
* Plants in bloom attract bees, so if you have to spray, do so before or after the blooming period. Choose an insecticide that is not toxic to bees.
Choosing plants
Indigenous trees particularly recommended by beekeepers are sweet thorn, karee, bush willows, weeping wattle and tree fuchsia.
Colourful indigenous plants include agapanthus, aloes, asparagus fern, Cape violets, clivia, euryops daisy, felicia, gazania, carpet geranium, ribbon bush, lion’s ear, osteospermum, butterfly bush, Cape honeysuckle and vygies.
Many attractive non-indigenous plants also produce nectar profusely. These include alyssum, aster, calendula, forget-me-not, iris, nepeta, hollyhock, Michaelmas daisies, lavender, poppies, primula, salvia, sedum, sunflower and zinnia. For a herb garden, plant borage, chives, fennel, mint, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme.
* Carol Poole, project co-ordinator: biodiversity research - South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI): 021 799 8652; [email protected]; www.sanbi.org.za/pollination-honeybees
* Mike Allsopp, honey bee research section, Agricultural Research Council: 021 887 4690; [email protected]
* Mike Miles, chairman, South African Bee Industry Organisation: [email protected]
Saturday Star and Weekend Argus