Determining apiary site location

[omnimirage]

I live i Australia, where migratory beekeeping is standard. I don't like the idea of moving my bees around everywhere, mostly because it's a pain to do and I'd need to purchase a more suitable vehicle or trailer. I'd really like to have apiary sites established that I can keep bees there throughout the year.

How can one determine whether a site will have a good flow or not? I believe I'd need to travel around a 2-3 km radius and inspect all the flowering vegetation, and work out which times of the year specific species will pollinate?

I've set up my primary site at my family home, and I'm coming to believe that it's not a particularly good place for them, as I don't appear to be having a good flow. I also have a site I can set up, about ninety minutes away. Quite a drive, but it's a large isolated block of scrub with many trees. However, I could only find there two species of Manuka, and one specie of Tea Tree honey. There was hardly any flowering plants to compliment it, heard hardly any birds, saw only a few native bees and one European bee, no beehives. It seems that the site will only have a strong flow going whenever these few species of tree are blooming, and the rest of the time it appears the site will be dud.

How feasible is it to plant trees/flowers so that in the years to come, a site will have a large variety of flowers that I can keep bees there all year? How should I go about determining where to place my beehives?

 

[Anduril]

What part of Australia do you live? I had a relative in Perth who did quite well as an urban beekeeper. Any Jarrah by you

 

[omnimirage]

I live in South Australia. No Jarrah here. My beehives did seem to do better in an urban set up I initially had, compared to where I've placed them in the country.

 

[Anduril]

Any farms nearby with bee friendly crops?

 

[omnimirage]

There's many farms around. There isn't any in the urban area, there might be an olive plantation nearby at my country place (the one that isn't doing well) though I'd have to confirm; do bees even like olive trees? The block far out doesn't have any farms close enough.

I'm a little bit wary about farms, considering pesticide usage seems to be the major contributing factor towards colony collapse disorder, but maybe that's not much of a risk here to be concerned.

 

[Anduril]

Olive trees I believe are wind pollinated.