FOR `BEEGINNERS' ONLY <pollen1>
MY 1996 POLLEN-COLLECTING EXPERIENCES
I thought `beeginners' in cyberspace, interested in collecting
pollen, might like to read a 15-year veteran's pollen experiences
in 1996. (Now have 14 hives in operation.)
My total collection was 46-3/4 pounds from February 26, when my
seven traps were installed, to September 29 when they were removed.
Note below that the traps were turned off from April 22 until June
10, roughly the period of the honeyflow in the Baltimore metropoli-
tan area, 25 miles N of where Billy Clinton (ref. John 8-7) hangs
his hat. Also one hive consistently outproduced all the rest
combined!
The monthly collection was as follows:
February traces
March 1-1/5#
April 3-3/4# (1st-22nd turned on; turned off, 23-31)
May 3-3/4# (turned off, 1st-31st)
June 6-1/4# (turned off, 1-9th; turned on, 10th-30th)
July 10-1/2#
August 8-1/4#
September 13-0#
Comment: the May collection is NOT a mistake. Although turned off,
some of the seven traps still yielded pollen, as can be seen.
[Cold and rainy weather naturally has a pronounced effect on amount
collected.]
What were the floral sources? This has always been a mystery to
me. In February the dark green stuff is obviously skunk cabbage;
the bright orange in March and April, dandelion; and the light
yellow in July, corn. Am sure that Dr. Hachiro Shimanuki's lab in
Beltsville, a short distance to the south, could give positive
answers.
Background: I have been trapping pollen for more than a decade,
owning and trying about a dozen different trap configurations in
the process. For my money, the best out there is made by
Stauffer's Beehives, RD 1 Box 489, Port Trevorton, PA 17864-9799
(don't try calling him: the Amish have no phones). It is the only
trap I now use.
P.S. (1) My seven traps have already been installed (Feb. 2, 1997).
So far I've seen traces of green pollen pellets, obviously skunk
cabbage (there's a swampy area in the woods behind my property next
to my hives).
(2) The traps should be emptied daily until one determines if that
is necessay. I normally do it every other day unless rain is
predicted, then I'll hurry up and do it immediately if the traps
have not yet been emptied. My carrier is a recycled 5# plastic
peanut butter pail with lid. I always carry two of them, the
second one for extra debris-ladened pollen--why contaminate the
clean stuff, since cleaning pollen is a tedious operation!
(3) The traps are installed only on the STRONGEST hives. (I do it
when I'm reversing the broodchambers, where necessary [when the
bottom broodchamber is lighter than the top--the queen normally
works her way up and needs the free space].
(4) If one is traveling for more than two days (I'm usually gone
for two weeks during the height of the pollen flow), it's best to
turn the traps off (not necessary to remove them) or else upon
one's return, there will be heaps of moldy pollen.
(5) It is unusual to find a pound of pollen in a drawer--may happen
once or twice a season. Happily, the more in the drawer, the
cleaner the pollen and vice versa. (It should be noted that my part
of central Maryland is NOT pollen country! I live on four acres of
land, 200 feet wide by 800 feet long, back up to a woods, have a
four-acre neighbor on one side and four neighbors on the other
while the head of the property borders on Old Annapolis Road).
(6) Since cleaning is a bitch, I'm always using a fingernail brush
to clean the collector drawer screen after each emptying.
(7) HIVES SHOULD BE BEE-TIGHT! It is very important to note that if
there other ways to enter/leave the hive, the bees will most
assuredly find them, to avoid losing their precious pollen loads.
(8) The traps are NOT 100% effective; therefore, some pollen--
necessary for broodrearing and diet--is always getting through.
There is also a theory that if the bees suspect that not enough
pollen is coming in, more ladies are sent out to do the job!
(9) Obviously this information is for the h o b b y i s t. Com-
mercial pollen trappers are a different breed.
Bonne chance! Am open to further questions.
John Iannuzzi PhD
Howard Honey Farms RR8
9772 Old Annapolis Rd
Ellicott City MD 21042
7feb97 1433 est
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url: http://www.xmetric.com/honey
###john iannuzzi phd
###beekeeper 37 years
###14 colonies w/ paisano honeybees
###historic ellicott city md usa (10 mi W balto)
###guardian of "singing masons building roofs of gold"
###URL - http://www.xmetric.com/honey
###email: [log in to unmask] [3fe972200]
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