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I wasn’t paying much attention to Pandora last night until I heard that old Bob Dylan tune, “Tangled up in Blue.” Oddly, I didn’t think of the ’70s or the disparately sad lyrics. No, not me . . . I thought about blue pollen. How weird is that? Those who have been reading this [...] After I wrote about floral fidelity and the purity of pollen baskets, I received this awesome photo by Chelsea at thehoneybeat.com. Look carefully and you will see the worker in the center of the photo has pollen baskets of two distinctly different colors. So how did this happen? I’ve tried to think this through, [...] Jeff Harris, a beekeeper in Newfoundland, took this photo of his hive entrance. It’s a little hard to see, but several of the bees are bringing in green pollen. I’ve never seen green pollen down here in Fahrenheitland, so I wanted to share it. Thanks, Jeff, for an astute observation . . . and [...] Flower fidelity makes honey bees special. While many pollinators flit from one plant species to another, honey bees doggedly pursue flowers of a certain species. So when the new day dawns, Sue and Marianne, Betsy and Josephine grab their flight plans and wing out the front door. Sue is visiting dandelions, Marianne and Betsy [...] Bumble bee on clover Yesterday I wrote that bees need a continuous supply of flowering plants such that something is always in bloom. I also mentioned that different types of bees prefer different types of flowers. What I didn’t discuss was the importance of pollen variety in the bee diet. I think it [...] While honey bees have pollen baskets (corbiculae) in which to carry pollen back to the hive, many native bees carry pollen on the underside of the abdomen instead. The abdomens of these bees are covered with a thick tuft of elongated hairs called a scopa. Instead of packing the pollen into a ball, the [...] Bird’s eyes (Gilia tricolor) is a perfect plant for your pollinator garden, planter box, rockery, or roadside. This annual plant is native to California, but will grow in most areas of the United States and southern Canada. The flowers have lavender and white trumpet-shaped petals that come together in a yellow throat, hence the [...] I don’t know if this rumor is everywhere, but you certainly hear it here in the Pacific Northwest and in southwestern Canada. We have a lot of red alder (Alnus rubra) in this area, so that’s probably how it got started. I was reminded of the rumor when I saw my bees packing in [...] A male pussy willow is one of the best trees for the bee yard because it will bloom especially early in the year. Beekeepers often plant them close to the apiary to help the bees through the pollen-scarce months of March and April when little else is in flower. The term “pussy willow” refers [...] Fall rain followed by a few sunny days brought out the dandelions here in the Pacific Northwest . . . and the honey bees noticed. Huge pellets—the color of boxed macaroni and cheese—are being carried into the hives, two-by-two. While dandelions do not provide the perfect honey bee food, their presence provides something for [...] |
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