Melliferous flora: what Mauritian bees actually forage on

Lychee is native to southern China and was introduced to Mauritius in the 19th century. It has become one of the iconic fruit trees of the island. Flowering occurs in August–September, before the fruit harvest that peaks in November–December². This short window is precious: lychee flowers are extremely melliferous and bees can fill whole frames in a few days of good weather.

Mauritian lychee honey is pale, floral, with a lightly muscat note. It crystallises slowly. It is our most sought-after harvest and mostly comes off the hives in September–October, right after the bloom ends.

Eucalyptus was planted at scale in Mauritius in the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly for timber and draining wet land. Eucalyptus tereticornis is one of the most common species; chemical studies on Mauritian honey confirm its presence as an identifiable unifloral source³.

Eucalyptus honey is darker, more robust, with faint menthol notes and a long bitter finish. Its flowering tends to fall at the end of the dry season (August–October depending on species and year).

Known locally as faux-poivrier, Schinus terebinthifolius is native to South America and was introduced as an ornamental across the Indian Ocean. It has spread widely in Mauritius, Réunion and Madagascar, to the point of being considered invasive⁴. Its fruits are the famous pink peppercorns sold as a spice.

For bees, it is an abundant resource. The tree produces small white flowers in melliferous clusters. Wild pepper honey is subtle, floral, lightly spiced. The reference scientific study on Mauritian honeys identifies it as one of the three major unifloral honeys of the island, alongside lychee and eucalyptus³.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is one of the oldest trees introduced to Mauritius. It generally flowers in February–May with small yellow and pink flowers. It is mentioned as a nectar source in the scientific literature on Mauritian honey³.

Other introductions that matter across the year: mango (September–October), longan, avocado, strawberry guava, bougainvillea (gardens), coconut palm, and filao (Casuarina equisetifolia) along the coastal belt. None of them is dominant enough on its own to produce a unifloral honey, but together they make the richness of our multifloral.

Native Mauritian forest survives in a handful of reserves: Black River Gorges National Park, Bras d'Eau, Île aux Aigrettes. It still contains endemic species that produce nectar, notably Sideroxylon cinereum and Sideroxylon puberulum, two trees known locally as bois de fer or Mauritian olive. These species have been studied for their interactions with endemic nectarivorous birds, and research has asked whether introduced honey bees compete with those birds for nectar⁵.

Our position as beekeepers is simple: we place our hives in farmed and peri-urban land, not in the reserves. The Mauritian government has separately created bee reserve zones at Bras d'Eau (east) and Petite Rivière Noire (southwest), where 17,000 melliferous plants were planted starting in 2017⁶.