>From: "Jeffrey R. Tooker" <[log in to unmask]>
>Date:         Sat, 18 May 1996 16:29:00 -0700
>Subject:      Pollen
 
>Do bees use pine pollen?  All input greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Jeffrey,
 
Not that I have ever seen in California. I have collected much pine
pollen and tried to interest the bees in consuming it without much
success. Looking at it under a low power microscope you can see that it
looks like "hard round spheres", suggesting it would not do them much
good if they were forced to eat it. This is common in plants that
produce heavy amounts of pollen of low food value to honeybees such as
some of the palm trees which can produce pollen by the kilo per bloom
stalk. Some date palm pollen is so hardy that it can be stored at room
temperature for years without loss of vitality as far as female palm
trees flowers go and is taken off the shelf the next year in hand
pollinating to make the dates. No nearly as sexy as having the bee's
do it as they do with many other flowers.
 
If you have bees in the manzanita belt your bees should be able to find
much pollen and do well except in the few years when the manzanita will
bloom so early in the season that nothing else is in bloom. This is
common in the costal manzanita but I have not seen it reported for your
area. Manzanita is one of the plants that can bloom almost anytime after
the first rains and can bloom more then once in a season, not common
but it does happen once or twice in a lifetime. There are at least 50
verities of manzanita in California and some have been increased for
roadway, and home garden use. The honey can be water white, has a
distinct flavor when first extracted which will change if it is allowed
to stand in the honey tank for a day or two, and granulates to the
consistency of bon bon cream relatively fast. It is seldom sold as
manzanita honey and much can be mixed with orange honey to extend that
crop. Years ago when gasolene was cheep many hives were place in the
manzanita of northern California to build up and fill up and then moved
to the citrus of southern California to make very big crops of orange
honey.
 
                           ttul OLd Drone-
 
 
 
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