Chris
> Do you think it likely that your bees obtain their propolis from a single
> source or multiple sources?
What a question! I have no idea, but would expect that bees would forage
for propolis as they do for honey and pollen, i.e. over a wide area with
multiple sources - provided, of course, that more than one source was
available within flying range. Perhaps there are some studies that might
help, but I have not seen any. Most of the literature on propolis that I
have seen seems to concentrate on its medicinal properties (for humans). I
also cannot claim to have seen bees collecting propolis, other than a bee
that I once watched removing it from a glove (back in the days before I used
rubber gloves and soda wash); I suspect that much of it comes from high up
in trees where it would be difficult for us to observe the bees working.
Best wishes
Peter Edwards
beekeepers at stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/
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