I have recently noticed an unusual colour pollen in two of my apiaries, both
in combs and on the varroa floor.
The colour, a purple/blue, is an exact match for Campanula as shown in
Dorothy Hodges 'Pollen Loads of the Honeybee', but the shape of the pollen
grains is completely different from Campanula - the nearest that I can find
is Sainfoin as shown in Rex Sawyer's 'Pollen Identification for Beekeepers'.
The apiaries are about 3 miles apart, so could have worked the same source,
and I suspect that it came in during late June/early July.
Any thoughts would be welcome!
Peter Edwards
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