Pollen Identification

[Excession]

I need help.

I plan to kick off a school project this year at their apiary.
The plan is for them to observe the pollen loads each morning, and identify the forage.
They will then use this info as well as other info (beeline and Google Earth etc) to physically track down the plants being foraged, as well as create a load of statistical data, graphs etc...

All is planned and ready to go.

The only problem is, I had assumed I would be able to get some (reliable) pollen identification cards or charts for the children to use.
But the ones I had my eye on are no longer available. (William Kirk ones)

Can anybody make a recommendation? Bearing in mind they need to be good as they will actually be tested to prove the experiment...

 

[Cussword]

Simon The Beekeeper gives away laminated Pollen Guides with orders.
I'm sure he would sell you some.(maybe even donate if you buy from him).

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The only problem is, I had assumed I would be able to get some (reliable) pollen identification cards or charts for the children to use.
But the ones I had my eye on are no longer available. (William Kirk ones)

Maybe because they weren't that reliable? he has published a book now which is much better:

'A colour guide to the pollen loads of the honey bee' published by IBRA ISBN 0-86098-248-3

 

[REDWOOD]

The only reliable way of telling is to observe pollen under a microscope.

 

[Excession]

Maybe because they weren't that reliable? he has published a book now which is much better:

'A colour guide to the pollen loads of the honey bee' published by IBRA ISBN 0-86098-248-3

Yep, this would do... But also not available anymore...

 

[Excession]

Simon The Beekeeper gives away laminated Pollen Guides with orders.
I'm sure he would sell you some.(maybe even donate if you buy from him).

I will get in touch and see, the only issue is it needs to be good quality to make sure the children have half a chance of identifying the right plant!

 

[Excession]

The only reliable way of telling is to observe pollen under a microscope.

Not a possibility for this project.
But we should be able to get at least some if not all of it identified by cross referencing the flowering period, date and colour chart.
That's good researching skills to develop.

 

[REDWOOD]

Great you are getting kids interested


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[Swarm]

Why not pick a sunny afternoon and take them to the nearest cycle path or suchlike? All manner of forage to be found in places like this, let them see the willow blossom with the bees actually on it. No better guide, find the plant, find the bee and there's the pollen.
The guides are never reliable IMO.

 

[alfazer]

This sounds like a great project Excession and something I'm interested myself.
What age group are the kids?

 

[BeeJayBee]

Why not pick a sunny afternoon and take them to the nearest cycle path or suchlike? All manner of forage to be found in places like this, let them see the willow blossom with the bees actually on it. No better guide, find the plant, find the bee and there's the pollen.
The guides are never reliable IMO.

Or give them some sticky-backed plastic so they can collect pollen from plants in their gardens or on grass verges on the way to/from school. Mount the plastic on white file paper, label with the plant names and date collected. Maybe add a picture of the plant and flower and, if they're lucky, on a bee returning to the hive.

Maybe tie the project in with computing by adding the whole lot to the school website? - Then watch the traffic from beekeepers who are searching for pollen colour etc?

Of course it'd all be a bit much if it's an infant school!

 

[Excession]

Great you are getting kids interested


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am quite surprised just how rewarding I am finding it, and just how interested the children are.
They ask much better questions than adults

 

[Excession]

Why not pick a sunny afternoon and take them to the nearest cycle path or suchlike? All manner of forage to be found in places like this, let them see the willow blossom with the bees actually on it. No better guide, find the plant, find the bee and there's the pollen.

The guides are never reliable IMO.

We want to make use of the school apiary, and tie in some specific learning objectives around observation/research/reporting.

 

[Excession]

This sounds like a great project Excession and something I'm interested myself.
What age group are the kids?

This is a primary school, but don't under estimate these kids, they are very inquisitive and do a lot more than this.
They keep chickens, run an allotment, run a 'veg box' company, run a radio station... The list goes on!

 

[Excession]

Or give them some sticky-backed plastic so they can collect pollen from plants in their gardens or on grass verges on the way to/from school. Mount the plastic on white file paper, label with the plant names and date collected. Maybe add a picture of the plant and flower and, if they're lucky, on a bee returning to the hive.



Maybe tie the project in with computing by adding the whole lot to the school website? - Then watch the traffic from beekeepers who are searching for pollen colour etc?



Of course it'd all be a bit much if it's an infant school!

I like the idea of collecting pollen themselves... They do have the facilities for some microscopy.
That'll be another project though

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I made my first pollen slides a couple of weeks ago. The instructor suggested that the the colouring develops over a month so the edges of the cover-slip should not be sealed for a month.

Pollen slides are quite simple to make once the basic steps are mastered and are a good way of linking plants with their pollen, record keeping and microscopic work.

You might also be interested in local weather info from Southsea that the pupils can make use of - https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=IPORTSMO28#history

CVB