From: Bill T <[log in to unmask] wrote!

Lots of things go into colony buildup. Dandelions are  the main source of
spring buildup in my area but Dandelion pollen is listed as one of the
worst for nutrition 

 

 

 

That's interesting. Dandelions no longer use their own pollen for fertilising seed but manage it by an internal process called 'cell migration', so that, effectively, nearly all the dandelions in a patch will be clones.  They must have used pollen at some time in the distant past and what they continue to produce now must be a behavioural relic of those times, but maybe they don't put as much investment into it nowadays as it isn't needed, hence the low protein content.  I was recently told by Ben Jones of FERA (the UK Government's Food and Environment Research Agency) that dandelion pollen has a much thicker shell than most pollens.  Ben is about to embark on a PhD project (if he can get the funding!) on pollen in relation to bees.

Chris

 

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