Bee plants for India

[ApiAnon]

Dear all,

I am working on an apiculture project in a region called Araku Valley, AP,India where I am training tribes women to become beekeeper . We are working with the local specie Apis cerana.

In this region we have 3 seasons. Monsoon: June to September, Winter: October to February, Summer: March to May.

The summer is a difficult season for the bees, it's really dry. Sources of water and food are not easily available.

I would like to find a list of bee plants that I could plant in this region (tropical climate) which are not invasive species and could supply the bees mainly during the summer but also all the year long.

Hope hearing from you soon.

Regards,

Christelle
Twitter: @Apianon
Blog: ApicultureAnonymous
email: apicultureanon@gmail.com

[beepro]

Hi, ApiAnon. I would think your monsoon season is the worse one for the bees to deal with.
Bees don't fly that much in the rainy seasons here. But I don't live in India so you know your
environment more than us here. So the best plants to plant I think is the canola, borage, white clovers,
buckwheat, and sunflowers. These are all summer plants. So far I like the canola and borage better because
my bees are all over them when they bloom. They can be grown all year long in tropical regions too. I think
you will like the canola better for human and animal consumption also.

[jdawdy]

Find out what crops your local farmers raise, then look them up to figure out which are good nectar producers.