http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00173139409428989

1994
Pollen morphology and its effect on pollenl collection by honey bees, Apis
Mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with special Reference to Upland
Cotton, Gossypium Hirsutum L. (Malvaceae) Bernard E. Vaissière & S.
Bradleigh Vinson

Honey bees, Apis riiellifera, forage readily on flowers of upland cotton,
Gossjpirrni /zirsrrtrrrti, to harvest nectar. The abundant pollen gets
caught in the haircoat of the bees, but cotton pollen is nevertheless
rarely collected. Honey bee pollen collection effectiveness was therefore
investigated in a flight room using cotton and five other spheroidal pollen
taxa presented in sequence. Honey bees visited all pollen dishes, but ohra
pollen (Abcbrroschrrs escirlerzrrrs) was never packed successfully by the
bees landing in the pollen dish. Cotton pollen was collected by 16% of the
landing foragers, pumpkin pollen (Crtcrrrbifa pep) by 7 1%. and pollen of
corn (Zen rrrajs), pigweed (Aiiroraritlirrs palnzeri), and sunflower
(Heliarithrrs arrrirm) were readily collected by nearly all foragers. The
amount of time spent in the pollen dish was always short (I to 9 seconds)
and homogeneous among all pollen taxa, indicating that none of them was
strongly repellent to the bees. The reduced effectiveness with which honey
bees collected cotton pollen was demonstrated by the longer amount of time
needed for pollen grooming and packing between two consecutive landings in
the pollen dish and the small size of cotton pollen pellets (averages of
0.42 mg and 8.23 mg per pellet for cotton and corn pollen, respectively).
This reduced efficiency in cotton pollen collection was associated
primarily with the length of the spines on cotton pollen which physically
interfered with the pollen aggregating process used by honey bees.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html