Hello Brian & All,
All beekeeping is local.

I remember your post.

 In fact I think Brian Fredrickson used your study to say bees do not gather 
corn pollen.

I think Brian said :
"the bees have to collect corn pollen for a problem to happen and bees do 
not gather corn pollen"

I assure you they do as shown in Peters photo. Also the neonicotinoids are 
found in the pollen.

       .>Anyhow our weekly analysis showed minimal corn pollen.

I wonder the dates when you ran your traps? Until corn tassels you would not 
find corn pollen of any amount.

Did you check over several years?

 I might also suggest from my also looking at corn pollen brought in by bees 
is that the pollen is very sticky as compared to other pollens and like 
certain other pollens not so easy knocked from the bees legs. Pine pollen is 
hard to collect. Only a hypothesis.

>we don't have CCD like problems around here either.

I think (if I remember correctly) that Jerry Brumenshenk came on and  said 
the CCD team had heard from plenty of beeks in your area claiming CCD 
problems.  Jerry want to comment?
keeping names secret gives the impression there are few CCD claims.

Several beeks in my area sure reporting hives dwindling since the corn 
started teaseling. I for now are not having problems but most of the supers 
are on so will not really know until the supers are stripped and we can dig 
into the brood nests. I suspect enough other plants are producing a better 
pollen and my bees are only bringing in minimal corn pollen like Brian's 
study.

The bottom line is simple:
In certain years in my area the bees fill so many frames of corn pollen we 
have to pull frames to open the brood nest. Happens usually about every five 
years but the bees do collect some each season as shown by Brian's grant 
study.

bob 

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