In a message dated 8/18/98 3:58:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
 
>  Will bees gather pollen from soy beans and what kind of honey will it be if
>  they do?
>  I am bringing home some bees and they will be near several hundred acres of
>  beans that are just starting to bloom.  Is this good?
 
    It's good if pesticide applicators obey the law. Materials that are
hazardous to bees are forbidden to be applied while bees are foraging in the
application area. Check the label directions. Of course the law is not always
observed and is poorly enforced, unless beekeepers are assertive.
 
    Soybeans are quite variable in yield. For me they have been mostly
disappointing. The bees work them, but don't add much weight, maybe due to our
sandy coastal soils. In some areas with the right soils and the right soybean
varieties, they do make a little honey.
 
    BTW, bees make honey from nectar, not pollen. The pollen is protein food
for the young bees and babies.
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm