Major honey flows (plants, seasons)
The importance of a honey bee plants often depents on different opinions of beekeepers, due to different criteria selecting and recognizing them (nectar flow, pollen amount, flowering period, quality, frequency of honey bee visits, …).
Ethiopia: Fichtl and Adi (1994) described 500 melliferious plants of Ethiopia. To mention some of them:
Indonesia:
References
ET: Acacia albia (Fabaceae), Acacia Seyal (Fabaceae), Agave sisalana (Asparagaceae), Andropogon abyssinicus (Poaceae), Becium grandiflorum (Lamiaceae), Bidens macroptera (Asteraceae), Bidens pachyloma (Asteraceae), Carduus camaecephalus (Asteraceae), Carthamus tinctorius (Asteraceae), Cassia arereh (Leguminosae), Cordia Africana (Boraginaceae), Croton macrostachyus (Euphorbiaceae), Dichtrostachys cinera (Fabaceae), Eucalyptus globulus (Myrtaceae), Euphorbium candelabrum (Euphorbiaceae), Guizotia abyssinica (Asteraceae), Guizotia scabra (Asteraceae), Hypericum revolutum (Hypericaceae), Olea Africana (Oleaceae), Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae), Satureja punctata (Lamiaceae) (Abdelrahaman G .El Mahi & Talaat. D. Abdel Magid 2014; Gupta 2014, Haftom Gebremedhn et al. 2013). The importance of a honey bee plant depends on different opinions of beekeepers, due to different criteria selecting and recognizing (nectar flow, pollen amount, flowering period, quality, frequency of honey bee visits, …) them (Haftom Gebremedhn et al. 2013). Schefflera abyssinica (Araliaceae) for white honey, Albizia spp. (Fabaceae), Aningeria adolfi-friederici (Sapotaceae) and Croton macrostachyus (Euphorbiaceae) for red colored honey. Other important honey bee plants in the south western region: Vernonia amygdalina (Asteraceae), Dombeya torrida (Sterculiaceae), Syzygium guineense (Myrtaceae), Apodytes dimidiata (Icacinaceae), Ilex mitis (Aquifoliaceae), Ekebergia capensis (Meliaceae), Prunus africanus (Rosaceae), Jasminum spp. (Oleaceae), Euphorbia spp. (Euphorbiaceae), Maesa lanceolata (Myrsinaceae), Cordia Africana (Boraginaceae), Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae) (Awraris Getachew Shenkute et al. 2012, Kibebew et al. in press). ET: In Ethiopia there are in general two seasons of honey harvesting: Oct-Nov and April-June (Gemechis Legesse Yadeta 2016). Honey harvesting strongly depends on region (particular climate and flowering plants; → “mini” harvesting seasons): twice a year (before and after rainy season); swarming in September and April (Gupta 2014); floral calendar covering all regions in Ethiopia does not exist → KNOWLEDGE GAP (Nuru et al. 2002); availability of honey bee plants depends on particular regions (e.g. high availability in Debrekidan Region (watershed in Tigray-Region-northern Ethiopia): from July to November; in Begasheka (watershed in Tigray-Region-northern Ethiopia) from August to December; in central highlands 58% of flowering species from September to November); high swarming in Debrekidan and Begasheka occurs from August to September (Amssalu 2006; Haftom Gebremedhn et al. 2013). Asgede Tsimbla (Tigray Region in N): Oktober-November (Gidey Yirga et al. 2012). Southwestern Ethiopia: major harvesting: April-June, minor harvesting November-January (Awraris Getachew Shenkute et al. 2012). In general you can say: major honey harvesting periods in the low-lands and midlands of Ethiopia: November-December and in the highlands: April to May (Gidey Yirga et al. 2012).
