Today after coming back from town I noticed a very loud hum coming from one of my expired fireweed patches. Upon checking, I noticed 100s of bees collecting what looked like pollen. Their sacs were full of bright fluorescent orange "pollen".
Curious as always I went to the hive to see if I could find discarded pollen balls. I found a few and decided to test them along with a "rusted" fireweed leaf under a microscope.
What is the impact on the bees? What is the nutrition of Pucciniastrum epilobii (Fireweed Rust) or rust spores in general vs pollen? Any interesting studies on this subject that you would recommend?
We had our 1st frost in a while (-4C) this morning. The 1st August frost seems to be the trigger of rust spore collection (triggers a dearth). My forage is done for the season except for my 1/4 acre of frost tolerant flowers and the odd patch or honeydew source in their range. Pollen patties are part of my winter prep so they will get that for the next 4 weeks. I'm in the Yukon.
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