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Thu, 8 Dec 2022 14:31:58 -0500 |
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I was recently asked a questions, how I knew which flowers produced (used by bees) what (pollen, nectar or both). Many of the flowers are not in any (Pollen/Nectar Source) reference guides. This person was building a microscopic pollen reference guide for a future pollen and honey study in his area.
I have had to make assumptions based on my observations in the field, hive scale weight changes and pollen collection (vs bloom dates). Bees actively collecting off a specific flower with pollen in their cubicula (assume pollen), bees actively jumping from flower to flower (5 to 10s per visit) with no pollen assume nectar. Fireweed is a great flower to learn to see the difference in behaviour as they are both a nectar and pollen source. The anthers (pollen) and nectary (nectar) are separated and can't be targeted at the same time. So I am able to tell the difference by their behaviour on the flower. I have a couple of wild meadows around with a multitude of flower types where I can just walk and observe the different behaviours and look for pollen sacs and note colours or the lack of. Luckily bees once foraging for a flower type show preference until they move on to another species.
When you observe pollens off flowers, you will also notice those frequented by bumblebees and other native pollinators will have a wide variety captured within that flower. An example are chive flowers. I have noticed lingonberry pollen on those but the nearest lingonberries are 50m away and they are not wind pollinated as they grow inches off the forest floor. I have observed up to 6 different types of pollen on a single chive flower. Just shows how pollen gets moves around.
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