Hi bee folk,
For the folks that are interested in the color of bee "pollen loads", there
is a book called "Pollen Loads" authored by Hodges (a woman from Britain).
I don't know how it corresponds to plants in other countries. The sad part
is that the book is out-of-print.
There is also a book entitled, "American Honey Plants" by Frank C. Pellet
which speaks to bee forage plants consecutively through out the season.
Unfortunately this book is out-of-print as well.
The GOOD news is there is a man who deals in old bee books & he might be
able to help you out:
Joseph J. Bray
PO Box 3305 Yale Station
New Haven CT 06520
860-664-3983
Good luck. I too am interested in pollen loads & honey plants. I had a
discussion just a couple of days ago with Dr. Ayers from MSU about pollen
ID. As far as he knows there is no work being done at this time because it
would be very labor intensive. It's not as simple as obtaining pollen from
a plant & comparing it to what the bee has delivered to the hive.
Evidently the bee moistens the pollen so it will pack into the sacks
better. This changes the original color.
Sally Graves
Fennville MI
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