Do bees like sweetcorn?

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dolbz

New Bee
Joined
May 12, 2010
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Location
Bath, UK
Hive Type
National
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Quite a few fields of sweetcorn have suddenly popped up near my apiary. I've not heard it mentioned before when discussing what bees are foraging on and a search on the forum only gives a brief mention.

So do bees enjoy sweetcorn? Is it a good pollen/nectar source? will they travel far to it? When does it flower and how long does it last?

Thanks.
 
It's basically a type of grass, so wind pollinated and of no interest to bees. Does make a cool "skeleton fingers rattling" noise in the breezse though!
 
Although Sweet corn is wind pollenated, pollen is produced in such quantities that bees do find it atractive. I have seen bees collecting pollen from late varieties of Sweetcorn in August and September. Maybe this is at a time when other sources of pollen are few as it is generally too early for Ivy to be in flower.
Sweetcorn has a very pale yellow pollen. Maize which is widley grown as a silage crop for cows, has much darker pollen.
 
The field next to my bees had sweetcorn the last 2 years.
They do take pollen from it but dont think they get any nector.
The pollen is like an ice cream colour(no not neapolitin!!).
 
The field next to my bees had sweetcorn the last 2 years.
They do take pollen from it but dont think they get any nector.
The pollen is like an ice cream colour(no not neapolitin!!).

prefer homemade banana or strewberry myself ;)
 
Sweetcorn has a very pale yellow pollen. Maize which is widley grown as a silage crop for cows, has much darker pollen.

I inspected them last night and there was loads of grey/brown pollen. Does that sound like Maize? If not, any ideas what it could be?
 
This time of year my chart would suggest field bean, broad bean or rasberry.

Difficult with out seeing it,but those three cover the colour range.

Bit darker brown and it might be lupin.
 
I inspected them last night and there was loads of grey/brown pollen. Does that sound like Maize? If not, any ideas what it could be?

Sounds a bit like Himalayan Balsam. If you can see powdery grey on the back of the thorax that is the most likely solution. Not yet in flower in the stream that runs along the boundary of my garden but others have reported it - Manchester was one I saw.
 
Thanks for the comments. I'm going to guess at Knapweed or Raspberry as their seems to be a fair bit of both near by
 
Maize is one of the principle crops grown around here, (south west France), and my bees definitely bring in masses of "Corn" pollen which is a light beige colour. Whether or not different corns have different colour pollens I don't know for sure but its always the same colour here whatever the varieties being grown. There is no nectar from it, rather like hazel, just pollen.

Chris
 
Interesting to hear. my remote apiary is currently sandwiched between two large maize fields which are in 'flower'
 
Bramble/Bkackberry has a grey pollen. Plenty in flower at the moment.
 
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