Pollen

[Bigjbigbum]

went to see my beehive in my dressing gown today ( so i think its fairly warm ) and while watching them i saw a variety of colour pollen coming in, from bright orange to a dull yellow to just a dull white/ grey. would be nice to know what plants its from but also wanted to make a post and though you guys might like something good to think about (i'm a happy beekeeper cause both my hives are good and they went into winter very weak but i haven't actually gone in yet )

 

[yellowrage 53]

good post my bees are also bringin loads but some have black pollen on them ?

 

[Bigjbigbum]

good post my bees are also bringin loads but some have black pollen on them ?

Never heard of black pollen ! hopefully someone will be able to shed some light on this!

 

[Beeka]

Yeah, time for positivity!

I was stunned at the amount of activity today, a proper bee-Q....

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View attachment 9737

The bright yellow pollen was coming in this amount, constantly, for a good 3-4 hours.

Now I'm worried where they are putting it all and if the Kingspan dummy boards need to come out and extra frames back in??

I don't want to speak too soon but they look pretty happy to me...

 

[madasafish]

Never heard of black pollen ! hopefully someone will be able to shed some light on this!

Opium poppy.. but wrong season...see my piccie to left.

 

[Bigjbigbum]

Beeka those look like such beautiful Bees !

 

[blackcavebees]

Beeka I'm a bit jealous, mine were flying for 3 hours today but very little pollen here yet

 

[Beeka]

Hey, thanks! Not sure I can take much credit for the bees...they just came that way

I've taken a look around the area and cannot see much in flower so it's a bit of a mystery as to where it's coming from?

p.s...I've just seen the cover of January Beecraft and it looks very similar to that willow....

 

[Heather]

Plant some crocus! Mine were going ballistic on it today. Pollen baskets filling nicely.

 

[itma]

... i saw a variety of colour pollen coming in, from bright orange to a dull yellow to just a dull white/ grey. would be nice to know what plants its from ...

You can get printed cards (and books) that show pollen colours. But a lot of pollens are awfully similar in colour!
Horse chestnut is pretty easy to spot though!

At present, there aren't that many plants in flower, so, you might actually be able to see the bees with pollen on the plants.

Proper pollen ID really requires a high power microscope and a good reference to what the characteristic individual pollen grains look like under the microscope.
Sawyer has been recommended, and isn't expensive. http://ibrastore.org.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=237

 

[beeno]

went to see my beehive in my dressing gown today ( so i think its fairly warm ) and while watching them i saw a variety of colour pollen coming in, from bright orange to a dull yellow to just a dull white/ grey. would be nice to know what plants its from but also wanted to make a post and though you guys might like something good to think about (i'm a happy beekeeper cause both my hives are good and they went into winter very weak but i haven't actually gone in yet )

Possibilities bright orange - snowdrops, dull yellow orange - gorse, white/grey winter/spring flowering heather.

 

[REDWOOD]

Black pollen might not be pollen but propolis, but colour of propolis varies according to forage

 

[Nige.Coll]

listened to a talk about pollen last night at the association.
amazing stuff i didn't realise that pollen is linked to how long a bee lives.

 

[beeno]

Hi Beeka,
Lovely to see your bees with all the pollen. I am hoping to see mine replicate that when it warms up later. At the moment still got ground frost!

 

[beeno]

listened to a talk about pollen last night at the association.
amazing stuff i didn't realise that pollen is linked to how long a bee lives.

It is fascinating stuff and crucial to bee development!

 

[donaldb7340]

had loads of bees flying and a lot of pollen coming in! Busy time at the moment- hoping the weather stays as it is!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Beeka]

Hi Beeno, we are still getting frost most mornings but the sun has got some warmth to it now - when the rain clouds aren't in the way!

Our association had a talk recently by Celia Davis, she was great and knows an incredible amount about bee health and nutrition. Worth checking out her books....