Randy wrote:

>Certain pollens (such as any composite) may be deficient in certain amino acids. For example, Herbert found that colonies would crash if fed only >dandelion pollen.
>
>I suspect that this is why foragers appear to have an innate behavior to seek out pollens different than those being brought back by the majority-->getting a mix into the hive gives a better chance of a good balance.

Soooo, 

IF, for whatever reason, some species of goldenrod are less nutritious than they used to be, and 

IF, as noted in earlier posts, bees use fresh pollen and bee bread preferential to older material, and

IF, in some parts of the world, like here in New England, the final big pollen source is goldenrod (with some aster and a few odds and ends),

THEN, could that mean that the bees are collecting a largely homogeneous crop of inferior pollen and using it preferentially to the mixed pollens collected throughout the rest of the season, meaning their natural tendency to use fresh over old only exacerbates the problem?

Throwing rocks at my own statement, as someone else mentioned, there are many species of goldenrod.  Around here there are at least 4 main varieties that I see - short, medium tall and flattop (and probably a lot more than that), so, even with goldenrod, there are a number of different sources.  IF ALL goldenrod is becoming equally deficient, then that doesn't help.  But, if it is species-specific, then the variety might make a difference.

Maybe this was already covered and apologies, if I missed it, but I tend to read these in batches and easily miss items.

Bill

Claremont, NH
New England US

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