> In the amino acid profile, iso-leucine was a little below De
> Groot's recommended formula of 4%.

It also appears that tryptophan falls at a zero level in canola pollen in
these studies.  The chart at
http://www.honeybee.com.au/Library/pollen/brassica.html indictates that
tryptophan is an necssary amino acid, so unless this is obtained somewhere,
there could be a deficiency problem.

This is one of the problems of pollinating hybrid canola seed.  The growers
go to pains to try to ensure that there are no competing crops nearby.  We
are considering pollen supplementation with patties while on pollination,
but, of course that is work at a time when we have lots to do.  We are
impressed by how many hives we have lost over the year since beginning
pollination compared to our old honey production days.

There is lots more to say on the subject of canola, but I have a few hundred
cells to put in today, so will save it for later.  (Remind me).
Nonetheless, I will say that many Western Canadian beekeepers have suspected
canola of some mild toxicity to bees for a long time.  The double-zero
varieties are an improvement, but canola honey is one of the main reasons
that some of us do not consider honey to be nearly as good a wintering or
spring feed as sugar.

Two final caveats:

1.) One should use caution in assuming that the canolas grown today are all
the same as -- or even closely similar to -- the ones tested and displayed
on the website cited above, or that the profiles will be the same on all
soils or growing conditions.  Nonetheless, these results are most valuable
as an indicator.

2.) We must remember that the showing of amino acid contents to two decimal
places is suspect outside the lab.  Even when rounded, I'd suggest that they
should be regarded as rough numbers when used in in practice.

allen