In article <001801c23fe2$b4ca22a0$c5a7193e@oemcomputer>, Peter Edwards
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>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.

Hello Peter,

This is almost certainly Phacelia tancetifolia, the tansy-leaved
Phacelia.

Widely grown in parts of Europe as a cover crop on set-aside ground, it
has ferny foliage at first, then opens into a mass of pinkish purple
flowers, the heads of which unroll, like a fern, as the flowers open in
succession.

Normally sown in late April or early May, it generally starts to flower
in early July in these parts.

It is SERIOUSLY attractive to bees, and any other pollinators that may
be around, and in the right conditions the whole field buzzes with all
the insect life. The pollen varies in colour according to how the light
catches it, appearing anything from black to vivid purple, but I could
best describe it really as navy purple, but brighter and bluer in direct
bright sunlight. It is very unusual and is a useful marker as to how far
the bees will fly.

Two years ago we had a small block in the middle of an area we frequent,
and considerable amounts of this were coming into apiaries fully 9 miles
apart, from opposite sides of the field.

In 1998 there was a single field in our area, and an apiary at 5.5 miles
away, including crossing a small hill, had several colonies bringing
home some of this pollen.

In this 1998 case a local farmer and ourselves co-operated in planting
55 acres of this stuff on one field, and we put in 44 hives of bees. In
3 weeks they produced 1.75 tonnes of nice white honey, so the nectar
potential should also be remembered. In the last two years we have had a
few humid days whilst it was flowering, and for a brief while the rate
of nectar gathering was enormous. Help your local farmer by subsidising
the seed a bit and you will get a major reward in yield most years.

Seed available from most agricultural seed merchants, cost around GBP 8
per kilo, and 3 kilos can do a hectare, although double that rate can be
even better.

You must have a little of this somewhere in your vicinity.


--
Murray McGregor