Palm Trees and Bees

[NWpalms@206]

As my new palm collection grows, and with spring on the way, I am wondering the relationship that bees have with palms, as I am also a Beekeeper.  Just hoping for some basic info/experinces. Will the bees cross-pollinate and/or collect nectar for honey production from palm blooms? Is the honey good ( ie: safe, what is flavor like)? Is there anything I should be aware of? Thanks for any tips, I want to keep my bees and trees happy and healthy!

[Silas_Sancona]

17 minutes ago, NWpalms@206 said:

As my new palm collection grows, and with spring on the way, I am wondering the relationship that bees have with palms, as I am also a Beekeeper.  Just hoping for some basic info/experinces. Will the bees cross-pollinate and/or collect nectar for honey production from palm blooms? Is the honey good ( ie: safe, what is flavor like)? Is there anything I should be aware of? Thanks for any tips, I want to keep my bees and trees happy and healthy!

Any palms that flower will definitely attract the bees.. All sorts of them, ..Nectar/ pollen feeding Flies / Wasps, Beetles, etc..  And yes, depending on what you're growing ( ..if compatible ) they could cross pollinate..

Can't say i've heard much about " Palm Honey " ..but would be a really interesting aspect to study / investigate..  Can't imagine it would be harmful / toxic since many palms possess various things that are edible ( hearts, fruit ) but, definitely no expert in that regard..

Obviously you know not to spray anything around the Palms that might harm the bees while foraging / feeding.. ( ..or ever really )

Get any great pictures of the bees doing their thing, feel free post them in the " Garden Visitors " thread, down in the Ohana Nui section of the Forum.

[Alan_Tampa]

Honey from s. repens is supposed to be good

 

[ShadyDan]

FWIW, the bees seem to be all over my large male Trachy every spring. Anything from the small native bees, to honey bees, to bumbles. A lot of people cut the flowers off before bloom, but I always leave them on for the bees even if they are messy and a PITA to prune afterwards. No idea what kind of honey it makes, but I'd be interested to try!

[Tracy]

A neighbor across the street is a bee keeper and has a hive in his backyard.  I presume that his honeybees are collecting off everything in the neighborhood, from avocado and fruit trees, to aloes, palms, and even some of my orchids.  Bees caught in the act on a few different palm inflorescence... Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Dypsis lanceolata, Dypsis prestoniana and last an orchid.

[NWpalms@206]

1 hour ago, Alan_Tampa said:

Honey from s. repens is supposed to be good

 

I need to get that one still. It’s on the dwindling list, but I’ve been on a bit of a hybrid obsession lately! 

[NWpalms@206]

12 minutes ago, Tracy said:

A neighbor across the street is a bee keeper and has a hive in his backyard.  I presume that his honeybees are collecting off everything in the neighborhood, from avocado and fruit trees, to aloes, palms, and even some of my orchids.  Bees caught in the act on a few different palm inflorescence... Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Dypsis lanceolata, Dypsis prestoniana and last an orchid.

Good to know, great pics! 

[NWpalms@206]

28 minutes ago, ShadyDan said:

FWIW, the bees seem to be all over my large male Trachy every spring. Anything from the small native bees, to honey bees, to bumbles. A lot of people cut the flowers off before bloom, but I always leave them on for the bees even if they are messy and a PITA to prune afterwards. No idea what kind of honey it makes, but I'd be interested to try!

I’ll probably be doing the same. We also have a large lavender field maybe (x10) 100ft rows. So it may be hard to distinguish the honey but it can only add some tropical goodness. I’d love to try exclusively palm tree honey. While in Hawaii we did go to a bee and palm farm so I knew it could be done but they had lots of exotics and coffee farm too. Honey was amazing! I may order more from their website. 

[TaylorMiller]

Bees can indeed interact with palm blooms, although it varies. Some palms produce nectar that bees love, contributing to honey production and cross-pollination. The flavor of palm honey tends to be unique, often mild and slightly floral. Personally, I found my bees buzzing happily around my palm collection, enhancing the local ecosystem. However, there was this one time when a swarm got a bit too interested in our backyard BBQ. Learning how to keep bees away respectfully, without harming them or our activities, became essential.

[Kim]

The humming bees overhead are usually how I am alerted to a flowering palm.

[Butch]

I have always wanted to try Palm honey... I've tried many other types, but not palm... They definitely cross pollinate palms... I have a Veitchia in the back of my house, and a foxtail in the front, with a 2 story house in between... I had a foxylady spring up below the foxtail... The only way it could have been cross pollinated was by insect, and both palm trees are full of bees when in blossom...

Butch