>Does this attractiveness tell us anything at all about the food value of the pollen?  

No.  Here in Australia bees work the Pinus sp. pollen and it has a crude protein value of around 7-9%.  The figure quoted for bees to survive is quoted at 20%.  There is a thought that maybe the fat content has something to do with the attractiveness.

> Does it say that bees on this pollen will raise more brood?  

Wouldn't think so.

>If we could figure out what made this pollen attractive would it help the performance of pollen subs if the attractive component was added?  

Maybe.

>All in all it seems to me we know very little about bees and pollen other than they need a variety of pollen.  This should be a fertile area for some of our academics to do some research.

Here in Australia there has been research carried out over the years on the crude protein content of pollens and in later years fat content has been added.

Trevor Weatherhead
Australia

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