EcoBlog
The latest thinking on ecological landscapes. Useful tips to improve our environment
High-Value Pollen Sources for Honey Bees: Get Planting!
For honey bees, pollen is essential for brood-rearing, and they need a lot of it: an average colony collects 50 to 125 pounds per year. Pollen is honey bees’ main source of protein, lipids, vitamins and minerals. They need pollen with 20% protein; 10 of the amino acids in pollen protein are essential to honey bee development. Not all plants provide equally nutritious pollen, or the same amount of pollen. And, honey bees do not seem to choose pollen based on its nutritional content.
How can you help honey bees get the nutritious pollen they need? Plant a variety of plants which provide pollen at different times of year. No one species can provide all nutritional needs. I suggest favoring native plants which are adapted to your region in favor of exotic plants, cultivars or hybridized plants.
Here are 10 great native woody plants which provide quality pollen:
- Willows (Salix species)
- Tulip Trees (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- Hazelnut (Corylus species)
- Maples (Acer species)
- Elms (Ulmus species)
- Ash (Fraxinus species)
- Poplars (Poplus species)
- Elderberry (Sambucus species)
- Cherry (Prunus species)
- Crabapples (Malus species)
Happy Pollen Planting from Kim Eierman at EcoBeneficial!
Photo: Honey Bee Gathering Pollen from Corylus
Photo credit: Alexandre Dulaunoy
www.flickr.com/photos/adulau/3376009550/sizes/m/in/photostream/
More from EcoBlog
Planting in the Dog Days of Summer?
The hot and humid days of summer are certainly not ideal for planting, but you can plant in summer with some special care and vigilance, if conditions allow. Maybe you just found a fantastic plant you have been looking for, or, perhaps you didn’t get around to planting some native…
“Looking for Mr. Goodbar” – The Quest to Find Male Native Plants
While searching for native plants for clients this season, I have once again encountered the annoying challenge of trying to find male pollinators for female plants when plants are dioecious (male and female plants). Conventional nurseries and native nurseries alike often fail to deliver the goods. It’s a serious problem…
My Brugmansia: A Native Plant Geek Goes AWOL
It started innocently enough. While volunteering at a plant sale held by Lasdon Park, a local arboretum, I spotted a dozen or so lanky, young Brugmansias for sale. The plant-loving staff, had scored these tropical wonders, offering them for sale amid a treasure trove of native and ornamental trees and shrubs.…