Hello All,

Humdinger wrote:
> Have you ever eaten pollen while collecting?

Yes . The only difference between pollen right from the trap and the pollen
i sell is the pollen I sell has been dried at around 95F. (when neccessary).

> In the evening, while collecting the pollen from my traps, I casually
> tossed into my mouth a handful of fresh pollen-perhaps three or four
> spoonfuls-and munched on the pellets.

In the fall bees gather ragweed pollen (as you pointed out). You in my
opinion downed three or four spoonfuls of ragweed pollen. Hence the
reaction.
I do not gather and sell pollen during the ragweed season. I actually gather
and sell mostly spring tree pollen. There are those customers which swear
the pollen helps their allergies but I recommend the fall Wildflower honey
with a small amount of suspended ragweed pollen taken a teaspoon a day for
thirty days before the start of ragweed season instead. There is no ragweed
pollen in the pollen I sell.


> I am allergic to  ragweed pollen.

Ragweed pollen allergies are the most common. Local honey will not help
allergies caused by mold.

>  The pollen pellets were grey [probably ragweed]

I believe you are correct.

> built up enough tolerance through my raw honey consumption albeit I
> had never taken fall honey.

The fall raw honey from your area will help you the most in my opinion as
contains the suspended ragweed pollen. I have allergies myself and by taking
the fall honey during late spring through fall I only have a slightly stuffy
nose. I take no other medicene. My nose clears up completely after the first
killing freeze.

I gather the wildflower honey in the fall and sell all through the next year
for allergies. The Wildflower honey I sell has no clover, sweet clover or
alfalfa mixed in. Only fall flowers. I make only a small supply and sell at
the markets by request. The true wildflower is not on display. I have lost
half my wildflower production hives to varroa by treating to late on two
separate occasions.

You can get the wildflower honey yourself if you put on supers late in the
season after the clover is over and are willing to pass up on fall
treatments of any kind.

Bob