Synchronising plant nectar supply with bee nectar collection maximises honey production in a farm revegetation scenario

CONTEXT: Habitat loss and fragmentation have reduced available resources (nectar and pollen) for apiarists. Targeted revegetation can increase resources and fill annual resource gaps, thereby improving colony health and honey production. To date, there has been insufficient research effort towards efficient revegetation of landscapes for honey production.OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this paper were to develop a new approach to inform the revegetation of sites for apiculture, and test the approach using a farm revegetation scenario.METHODS: Our approach is centred on a model of honey production. It predicts how changes to the plant species mix and number of hives at an apiary site may affect the temporal pattern of resource supply, demand, collection, consumption and storage. We applied our approach to a farm revegetation scenario, testing four different plant species mixes, each consisting of different proportions of 10 native plant species, against the unplanted site. We ran simulations for all possible combinations of hive number, planting scenario and unplanted site. We conducted extensive sensitivity analysis and validation against published empirical data.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The optimal scenario in which the timing and magnitude of the plant nectar supply and bees’ potential to collect nectar were synchronised produced approximately two times more honey than a scenario emphasizing high nectar-sugar producing plants, four times more than a scenario with an even proportion of native plant species, seven times more than a scenario emphasizing long-flowering plants, and 117 times more than the unplanted site. Under this synchronised scenario, plants produced more nectar during late spring and summer (when nectar was typically limiting), the site supported more hives, and each hive collected and stored more nectar. Under other scenarios, there was an undersupply of nectar during late spring and summer and oversupply from autumn to early spring. Our results suggest that synchronising local plant nectar supply with bees’ potential to collect nectar, together with selecting for high-producing plants, is an effective and efficient revegetation strategy that improves honey production.SIGNIFICANCE: Our model is a useful tool that can inform plant and hive decisions and improve revegetation outcomes and financial returns. This can be of greatest benefit during the planning stage, before significant financial investment is made on purchasing hives and revegetating sites.