Pollen is a primary source of protein for honeybee colonies, and pollen is necessary to provide the nutrients that the bees need to raise there larvae. While many beekeepers may pay close attention to the amount of honey that their bee colonies produce, the strength of the colonies are actualy based upon the availability of pollen for the bees to consume. Without sufficient pollen supply for the colony, the bees will struggle to raise their larvae and the strength of the colony will decline.
Thus, beekeepers can monitor the health of the colony based off the colors of the pollen that is found in the hive. Beekeepers can determine the colors of the pollen that is available from the hives in which they keep there bee colonies. Bees collect pollen from flowers and subsequently transport the pollen to the hive in the form of “pollen pellets.” These pellets can contain different colors of pollen from the various type of plants from which the bees collected pollen.
Pollen Color and Bee Colony Health
Additionally, because each type of plant contain the same color of pollen, the colors of the pollen that is stored in the hive can reveal the types of plants from which the bees are collecting there pollen. Pollen availability change with the different seasons of the year. During the spring, only a few type of plants begin to bloom.
During the summer, various types of plants bloom. In the fall, again only a few types of plants are blooming. Colonies require continuous supply of pollen throughout the year.
During the periods when the bees are not able to find pollen from the blooming plants, the growth of the bee colony will slow. In these periods, the beekeeper may have to move the hive to another location in which there is an abundance of flowering plant, or he or she may have to plant additional forage for the bees in which to find additional pollen. In addition to availability, the nutritional quality of the pollen that the bees collect is also important.
Plants that contain high amounts of amino acids in there pollen is required to raise the colonys larvae. Other plants may not contain enough amino acids in there pollen to adequately perform this task. Thus, the quality of the pollen can impact the bee colonys ability to recover from the winter months and to avoid developing diseases.
Consequently, because different colors of pollen contain different benefits to the bees, the beekeeper can utilize the color of the pollen in the hive to determine the benefits of the available pollen for the colony. Bees produce grain of pollen of various textures, each from a specific type of plant. These textures and patterns can be seen under a microscope, as they are consistent to the type of plant from which the bees collected the pollen.
Consequently, even though many beekeepers do not use microscopes, such a feature of the pollen grains indicate the reasons that certain colors of pollen are located within the hives in addition to each other. In addition to the reasons that the colors of the pollen are found within the hives, the way that the bees collect the pollen also plays a role in the content of the hives. The forager bees collect the pollen from only one type of flower during a single trip to collect pollen from the hive.
Additionally, the bees process the pollen into bee bread, which is a type of food that the bees ferment. This food is necessary both for the bees to digest the pollen and for the pollen to retain its shelf-life for future use by the colony. The inclusion of various colors of bee bread within the hive indicates that the bees have collected various nutrients from the colony, each of which is required to sustain the life stages of the bees within the hive.
Based upon this information about the pollen that exists within the hive, beekeepers can make planting decisions for the land upon which their hives live. Trees bloom only in the spring and fall seasons, while annual flowers bloom during spring and summer seasons only. Weeds and cover crops bloom during the middle season only.
Vegetables bloom during the same seasons as some of the annual flower. Thus, creating redundancy in the bee forage allow the bees to always find pollen from the flowers in their hive. Using a reference grid for the colors of pollen, bloom seasons, and protein values from each color can help beekeepers to more efficiently manage the forage in which they raise there bees.