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The collection of pollen by bees is an important process both in the activities of the hive and in beekeeping. Bees carry pollen from one honey plant to another and pollinate the plants. The pollen is used to create nutrient mixtures and other components of the hive. Therefore, any beekeeper should know how collection occurs, whose responsibilities in the hive include this, and how insects process pollen. If there is not enough product in the hive for the winter, the bee colony may die or be severely weakened by spring.
What role does pollen play in the life of bees?
Pollen is the male reproductive cells of plants. Bees collect pollen to feed their young, as well as for other needs. After collecting pollen, pollinators make bee bread - bee bread. Beebread is folded into honeycomb cells, which, after filling, are sealed with wax. These are supplies for the long, cold winter. One bee colony can collect up to 2 kg of pollen per day. Over the course of several weeks of flowering, insects collect pollen and produce much more pollen than they need to feed themselves in the winter.This is due to instinct, which forces insects to constantly work for the benefit of the hive.
Over the course of a year, a bee colony consumes much less pollen than it collects. This is due to a powerful instinct that makes the worker fly, regardless of how full the hives are.
The second reason for constant work is that beekeepers remove excess product, and the insects must be ready for winter. If the beekeeper does not calculate his strength and takes more product from the hive than is acceptable, the bee colony risks surviving the winter with large losses.
Which bees collect pollen?
In a bee family, all responsibilities are strictly distributed. Only drones do not collect pollen and nectar. Their task is to fertilize eggs. All other family members work to raise offspring and maintain order in the hive, as well as to create supplies for the winter. First of all, scouts fly out of the hive, looking for honey plants and then, using a specific dance, inform the rest of the inhabitants of the hive about this place. If the worker bees have finished collecting pollen or they did not like the honey plants offered by the scout, then she flies out in search of new places to feed.
Then the collectors move forward. These are worker pollinators who collect the pollen itself. This variety of working insects is also called field insects, since they do not work in the hive, but in fields with honey plants. Upon arrival at the hive, they hand over the material to the receivers. These types of bees are engaged in processing pollen.
What do bees collect: nectar or pollen?
Bees collect both nectar and pollen.But the purpose of such production is different. The nectar is collected in a special bag under the abdomen and used as food for the bee itself. Nectar is found in all flowering plants. Bees dip their tongue there, which is rolled into a tube and located in the proboscis, and collects nectar. One bag can hold up to 70 mg of the substance. When the worker returns to the hive, the product receivers suck the prey from her crop. Honey is obtained from nectar in a special way after a long process. Honey plant pollen is collected using a different technology.
Where do bees collect pollen?
There is no special sac on the insect’s body for collecting pollen. Therefore, they collect pollen with their whole body, or more precisely, with its villi. Plant pollen collected by the bee is stored in a basket on its hind legs. The result is a ball that has different shades depending on the honey plant: from yellow to black. Field bees spend up to two hours of their time per day collecting pollen.
Only bad weather can stop the collection of pollen and nectar. At this time, pollinators are in the hives.
Pollen collection
The pollen collection process itself consists of several stages:
- The bee, with the help of a scout, looks for fragrant and attractive honey plants.
- Sitting on the selected flower, the insect collects pollen on all the fibers.
- The product is collected on the legs, body, and wings.
- The insect carefully combs its paws, collecting prey from all the fibers.
- Then he forms a ball and lowers it into the basket on the shins of his hind legs.
To create one ball you need to fly around a thousand flowers. Then the toiler flies to the hive with her prey. Here she drops pollen into the cells.This happens with the help of special spurs, which are located on the middle legs. Next, the pollen is processed.
Disposal and recycling of pollen
After dumping pollen into cells that are located closer to the brood, the bees begin processing it. This is the work of insects that do not fly out of the hive. Young insects process pollen.
- Loosen lumps of pollen with their jaws.
- Moistened with nectar and saliva of the glands.
- Compact with heads.
- Pour honey over the fermented pollen.
- Seal with wax.
In this form, the pollen is stored for six months or even more. When pollen is densely packed, lactic acid fermentation processes take place in it. Lactic acid, which is produced as a result of this process, is a natural preservative and protects bee bread from spoilage.
All spring and summer, pollinators collect and store pollen so that there is enough food for a safe winter and for feeding the brood. If less than 18 kg of pollen is collected in a year, the bee colony will be on the verge of death and may not survive the winter.
How bees transfer pollen from flower to flower
In order to collect 20 mg of pollen, an insect flies around a thousand honey plants. At the same time, bees pollinate flowers. Pollen is male reproductive cells. If the plants are monoecious, then male cells must be transported to female flowers for fertilization to occur.
When collecting nectar and pollen, the insect flies from flower to flower. Some of the collected pollen from the insect's villi remains in the flower. This is how bees pollinate plants. Thus, insects play a huge role in the reproduction of honey plants. Most wild and cultivated plants require pollination by bees.
What do bees pollinate?
Among honey plants there are hundreds of different flowers, shrubs and trees. Bees pollinate:
- many shrubs: hawthorn, currant, raspberry, wild rosemary, heather, barberry, gooseberry;
- fruit and ordinary trees: apricot, apple, pear, acacia, cherry, oak, chestnut, maple, bird cherry, birch, plum, linden;
- herbaceous plants: clover, watermelon, cornflower, coltsfoot, thyme, lungwort, basil, alfalfa, fireweed.
Many vegetables in gardens and greenhouses are also pollinated by insects. These include: cucumbers, onions, pumpkin, some varieties of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.
How to Attract Bees to a Greenhouse for Pollination
Attracting bees to the greenhouse is important if there are crops there that need cross-pollination. There are several tips to attract bees to your greenhouse:
- plant flowers in a greenhouse;
- provide unimpeded access for bees to collect pollen;
- place an apiary not far from the greenhouse;
- use various baits;
- completely neutralize foreign odors.
You can attract bees to a greenhouse using a whole range of such measures. First of all, it is important that insects have access to the inside of the greenhouse. To do this, the greenhouse is equipped with the maximum number of doors and windows, which are opened in hot weather suitable for pollination.
It is also recommended to plant sunflower, jasmine or petunias in the greenhouse as attractive plants.
It’s great if there is an apiary next to the greenhouse.
The following substances are used as bait:
- sugar syrup with the aroma of the necessary flowers, in which case pollinators will fly precisely to this smell;
- make feeders for bees with sugar syrup and move them to the greenhouse;
- use aromatic oils to attract insects: mint or anise.
When using feeders, it is not necessary to keep them in the greenhouse all the time; you can take them out for a while. But it is not recommended to place feeders further than 700 m from the greenhouse.
How to attract bees to cucumbers
Attracting bees to pollinate cucumbers is not difficult. The vegetable can grow both in a greenhouse and in open ground. You can attract bees to the greenhouse to collect nectar if you spray all the cucumbers with a special solution. The recipe is simple:
Mix 1 liter of water at room temperature with a large spoon of jam or honey. Add 0.1 g of boric acid. After spraying, the bees will fly to the scent and pollinate the cucumbers in the home greenhouse.
In early spring, you can place a bee colony in a greenhouse with cucumbers. To do this, it is necessary to place the hive on the side rail of the greenhouse at a height of 40 cm. In a glass greenhouse, it is recommended to darken the windows behind the hive using fabric or a sheet of cardboard or plywood.
Conclusion
Bees carry pollen from flower to flower. This is how cross-pollination occurs. Thanks to this process, you can get a large harvest both in the garden and in the vegetable garden. At the same time, gardeners have to solve the problem of how to attract pollinating insects to the greenhouse. There are several ways, but in any case it is important that the bee colony lives no further than 2 km from the home greenhouse. Otherwise, the insects simply won’t reach.
