Floral Resources used by the South Australian Apiary Industry A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by David C Paton, Emma L Crossfield, Beatrice Hurrell and Daniel J Rogers May 2004 RIRDC Publication No 04/089 RIRDC Project No DEH-1A © 2004 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 0642 58799 X ISSN 1440-6845 Floral Resources used by the South Australian Apiary Industry Publication No. 04/089 Project No. DEH-1A The views expressed and the conclusions reached in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of persons consulted. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole or in part on the contents of this report. This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged. For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186. Researcher Contact Details David C Paton School of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide SA 5005 Phone: 08 8303 4742 Fax: 08 8303 6222 Email: [email protected] In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form. RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 1, AMA House 42 Macquarie Street BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4539 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in May 2004 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Union Offset ii Foreword A National Workshop on the Effects of Honey Bees on the Environment held in Canberra, 1989, identified the need for each state to develop a Beekeeping Resource Database to assist the Beekeeping Industry and relevant National and State Government Departments when determining beekeeper usage of Government controlled lands. Reports on the important floral resources used in Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria have already been produced. This report provides comparable information on the key floral resources used by the beekeeping industry in South Australia. Like other states this report is based on information provided by contributing beekeepers, and provides spatial information on where key resources are used by beekeepers in South Australia as well as some information on patterns of flowering and historical changes in resource use by beekeepers in South Australia. This project was funded from industry revenue that was matched by funds provided by the Australian Government. This report is an addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 1000 research publications, forms part of our Honeybee R&D program, which aims to improve the productivity and profitability of the Australian beekeeping industry. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Simon Hearn Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation iii Acknowledgments The RIRDC provided financial support for this survey to the South Australian government’s Department of Environment and Heritage. Dr Chris Holden ably managed the financial aspects of the project on behalf of the Department of Environment and Heritage and communicated with the RIRDC through the protracted period of this project. Elena Pretrenas, Apiary Section of the Department of Primary Resources South Australia, kindly provided access to the names and addresses of registered beekeepers. This report is based on material provided by 103 South Australian beekeepers and their willingness to contribute information is gratefully acknowledged. Leigh Duffield, Keith Gibbs, David Clifford, Kay Lambert, Geoff Cotton and Ian Zadow also assisted by organizing regional gatherings of beekeepers and encouraging beekeepers to contribute to the survey. Geoff Cotton also provided access to his records of honey production over nearly 40 years for inclusion in the report and Bill Winner, on behalf of Capilano Honey Ltd, kindly made information on receipts of honey from South Australian beekeepers to be made available electronically for use in this report. The assistance of all of these people is gratefully acknowledged. iv Contents Foreword............................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................. iv Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ vii Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Objectives............................................................................................................................................... 1 Methods.................................................................................................................................................. 1 Results & Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 2 Response Rate to Survey..................................................................................................................... 2 History of surveyed beekeepers .......................................................................................................... 3 Locations used by commercial beekeepers in South Australia ........................................................... 5 Identification of plants used by commercial beekeepers in South Australia....................................... 9 Key plant species used by commercial beekeepers in South Australia............................................... 9 Flowering seasons and annual variation in flowering levels of key plants ....................................... 45 Comparisons with other lists of plants used by honeybees in South Australia ................................. 52 Changes in floral resource use by South Australian beekeepers....................................................... 52 Documenting floral resource use in the future .................................................................................. 55 References Cited.................................................................................................................................. 55 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................................... 56 v vi Executive Summary There have been no detailed surveys of the key floral resources used by the beekeeping industry in South Australia. Although Purdie (1968), Boomsma (1972) and Lewis (1977) provided lists of native plants of potential use to beekeepers in South Australia these early lists were likely to be out of date and did not provide any data on the locations being used by beekeepers to exploit different floral resources. Information about the floral resources and locations being used by beekeepers is important for regional planning particularly with respect to protecting floral assets and maintaining access for beekeepers to these assets. The primary objective of this study was to identify the major floral resources being used by South Australian apiarists and to document the locations where beekeepers placed hives when exploiting the different floral resources. The primary method of collecting data was by a questionnaire that was distributed to 216 beekeepers with at least 40 hives registered in South Australia. Each beekeeper was asked to answer a series of questions about their beekeeping operations. These included providing details of the locations that they used for their bees, the times of the year that these sites were used, the numbers of hives placed at each site and the main floral resources that were being used at each site. The initial responses to the questionnaire were poor (<30%) and additional data on floral resources were collected from individual beekeepers willing to be interviewed. Beekeepers were also asked to identify potential threats or changes to the floral resources that they used. Based on the responses of 103 beekeepers, at least 98 plant species were identified as providing important floral resources to beekeepers in South Australia. Of these, at least 66 were native species (mainly various eucalypts), at least 19 were introduced plants (many were agricultural weeds) and at least 13 were crop plants. The most important and widespread floral resources were Coastal Mallee (Eucalyptus diversifolia), South Australian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) and Salvation Jane (Echium plantagineum). These plants were recorded as important sources at more than 100 locations in South Australia. Other widespread key plants included Lucerne (Medicago sativa), Canola (Brassica napus), Capeweed (Arctotheca calendula), and Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Sugar Gum (E. cladocalyx) and Cup Gum (E. cosmophylla). Maps showing the locations used by beekeepers when exploiting the floral resources of the 30 most frequently reported plant species are provided in the report, including details of their flowering seasons,