Australian Bee Forage Calendar
For the last month I've been at Milkwood Farm, about a four-hour drive from Sydney in Australia. I'm here until December as part of their spring internship program.
Today three of my fellow interns (Ashley, Juergen, and Olive) quickly cranked out a bee forage calendar, and it cried out for a digital version. Species have been selected for cold temperate Australia (this is definitely not the subtropics!). We're all beginners when it comes to bees and botany, so please forgive any mistakes.
I hope it provides a useful starting point for others. If you have any corrections or additions, I'd love to hear them!
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, remember that December to February is Australian summer.
| Name | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Uses | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trees | ||||||||||||||
| Golden Rain | X | X | X | X | X | D,F | ||||||||
| Elder | X | X | E | |||||||||||
| Rosecea Fruit | X | X | E | |||||||||||
| Persimmon | X | X | E | |||||||||||
| Chestnuts | X | X | E | |||||||||||
| Almonds | X | E | ||||||||||||
| Willow | X | X | X | C,M | ||||||||||
| Maple | X | X | X | B | ||||||||||
| Fig | X | X | E | |||||||||||
| Shrubs | ||||||||||||||
| Grevillia | ? | H | ||||||||||||
| Rosemary | X | X | E | |||||||||||
| Giant Lavender | X | X | X | S | ||||||||||
| Hazelnut | X | E | ||||||||||||
| Blackberry | X | X | E,P | |||||||||||
| Bottle Brush | X | X | ||||||||||||
| Winter Honeysuckle | X | X | X | A | ||||||||||
| Echium Wildpreti | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Foam Flower | X | X | ||||||||||||
| Tree Lupin | X | X | X | X | N | |||||||||
| Hairpin Banksia | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||
| Herbs | ||||||||||||||
| Queen Ann Lace | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Thyme | X | X | E | |||||||||||
| Dandelion | X | X | E,M | |||||||||||
| Horehound | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Lucerne | X | X | X | A | ||||||||||
| Borrage | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | A | ||||||
| Echinacia | X | X | X | X | M | |||||||||
| Yarrow | X | X | Dy | |||||||||||
| Golden Rod | X | X | X | |||||||||||
| Poppy | X | X | R | |||||||||||
| Globe Thistle | X | X | X | P | ||||||||||
| Bee Balm | X | X | X | |||||||||||
| Tansy | X | X | X | Dy | ||||||||||
| Cat Mint | X | X | ||||||||||||
| Milkweed | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Coltsfoot | X | X | X | |||||||||||
| Anise Hysop | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||
| Ground Covers | ||||||||||||||
| White Clover | X | X | N | |||||||||||
| Penny Royal | X | X | X | M |