does pollen = nectar?

879 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by fieldsofnaturalhoney, May 12, 2014

mpgreer

Discussion Starter · May 12, 2014

new beekeeper trying to figure out how to tell when there's "a flow on." there's lots of pollen coming in. in many beautiful colors: white, yellows, oranges, deep red. dandelions are blooming in people's yard. and the allergy forecast is high for maple, birch and oak. so when i see evidence of lots of pollen coming in, does that mean there's lots of nectar coming in as well?

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Rader Sidetrack

· #2 · May 12, 2014

From what I see, pollen is usually available earlier in the year than nectar. Nectar foraging is certainly limited by temperature of the nectar, but pollen foraging seems to be less so.

Also, keep in mind that allergy forecasts may be largely for windblown pollen / wind pollinated plants, which are not primary bee forage.

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AR Beekeeper

· #3 · May 12, 2014

Some plants only produce pollen, some nectar and pollen. The best way to tell if the bees are collecting nectar is to look for open cells of nectar in the colony.

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mpgreer

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 12, 2014

they have lots of liquid stores in there. but i fed them so much 2 weeks ago, my suspicion is that most of that is sugar syrup.

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fieldsofnaturalhoney

· #5 · May 12, 2014

mpgreer said:
new beekeeper trying to figure out how to tell when there's "a flow on." there's lots of pollen coming in. in many beautiful colors: white, yellows, oranges, deep red. dandelions are blooming in people's yard. and the allergy forecast is high for maple, birch and oak. so when i see evidence of lots of pollen coming in, does that mean there's lots of nectar coming in as well?

Not necessarily, as pointed out. One of my favorite ways to tell a nectar flow is to stand next to the hive and smell. One also might see a lot of "fanners" on the porch circulating the air/smell to dry the nectar.

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