• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
GardenFork - Eclectic DIY
  • May I Email You?
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • Video
menu icon
go to homepage
  • May I Email You?
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • Video
  • Follow Me Here:

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • May I Email You?
    • Podcast
    • Articles
    • Video
  • Follow Me Here:

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Articles » Beekeeping

    Inside the Hive: Views from a First Year Beekeeper (Scene 23)

    by Matt · This post may contain affiliate links, its one way we pay the bills. · 1 Comment

    Pollen is the topic of this post. In this image you can see quite a bit of it in the comb. It is of various colors and what I've seen them bringing in, at least the day of this hive inspection, is yellow. In fact, if you look closely at this picture you'll see a couple of bees with what looks like little yellow corn kernels on them. This yellow substance is pollen and it is held in the pollen baskets on their legs.

    Bees, like humans, require protein to survive and pollen provides that protein. The honeybees mix this with some nectar and produce something we call "bee bread" which is fed to the larva. Without this source of protein, the bees won't develop. Some beekeepers will provide "pollen patties" to their hives. This is a man-made substitute for pollen which they will, apparently, use like pollen. I have not had any experience with pollen patties at this point.

    Pollen is a little bundle of cells covered in a protective coating. The cells include vegetative ones and also a couple of reproductive ones. Pollen is the sperm of the plant and is a necessary component for reproduction. Plants which utilize pollinators like honeybees produce pollen which sticks easily to these pollinators and is carried from the anther to the stigma, thus reproduction in the plant. That's really the main reason plants have flowers - to reproduce.

    Bees, flies and other pollinators live in symbiotic harmony with flowering plants. These plants produce lots of pollen and some of it gets moved from the anther to stigma, helping to ensure reproduction in the plant. The plant relies upon these pollinators. The plants, in return, provide the protein needed for the bee to reproduce.

    Happy beekeeping,

    Matt

    Read all of Matt’s Inside the Hive Posts here

    Matt (twitter @MattInTheGarden) likes pickled cucumbers but not pickled beets. He thinks matrix math is cool. Matt wishes there were less lawyers and more scientists in the world. He knows there are some serious steering issues with Fred Flintstone's car that nobody else seems to care about... oh yeah, folks... chuckle away at that stone-age humor. Haha very funny. Matt's not amused by Hanna-Barbera's lack of knowledge about vehicles and engineering, let alone physics. 

    « We don't like candycorn GF Radio
    Urban Foraging Chestnut Tree Chestnuts »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Hub Rowlands

      December 15, 2012 at 3:57 pm

      i would like your recipe for essential oil for bees thank yoou

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Become a Monthly Supporter of GardenFork. Click Here To Learn More

    Pages

    • About
    • Let's Stay Connected With Each Other
    • Maple Syrup Evaporator Information
    • May I Email You?
    • Pizza Oven Plans & Make Pizza Videos
    • Privacy Policy
    • Radio
    • Terms of Use & Affliate Information
    • The GF Amazon Shop
    • Want More GardenFork? Here You Go:

    My lawyer makes me do this part: Visitors agree to our Terms Of Service and Affliate Information - Use This Information At Your Own Risk

    Produced by GardenFork Media LLC, Brooklyn, NY ©2021 All Rights Reserved