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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 plants. Nutrient mixtures and other components of the hive are created from the pollen. Therefore, any beekeeper must know how the collection takes place, whose duties in the hive it is, and how insects process pollen. If there is not enough product in the hive for the winter, then the bee colony may die or be greatly weakened by spring.
What role does pollen play in the life of bees?
Pollen is the male sex cells of plants. Bees collect pollen to feed their offspring, as well as for other needs. Pollinators, after collecting pollen, make bee bread – bee bread. Bee-bread is folded into cells of honeycombs, which, after filling, are sealed with wax. These are supplies for the long, cold winter. For a day, one bee colony is able to collect up to 2 kg of pollen. For several weeks of flowering, insects collect pollen and produce far more pollen than they need to feed in winter. This is due to the instinct that makes insects constantly work for the benefit of the hive.
During the year, the bee colony consumes much less pollen than it collects. This is due to a powerful instinct that makes the worker fly, regardless of the fullness of the hives.
The second reason for constant work is that beekeepers remove excess product, and insects must be ready for winter. If the beekeeper does not calculate the forces and selects more product from the hive than is permissible, the bee colony runs the risk of surviving the winter with great losses.
Which bees collect pollen
In a bee family, all responsibilities are strictly distributed. Only drones do not collect pollen and nectar. Their job is to fertilize the eggs. All other members of the family work to raise offspring and keep order in the hive, as well as to create supplies for the winter. First of all, scouts fly out of the hive, who are looking for honey plants and then, with the help of a specific dance, inform the rest of the hive residents 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 food places.
Then the pickers move out. These are working pollinators that collect the pollen itself. This variety of working insects is also called field insects, since they do not work in a hive, but in fields with honey plants. Upon arrival at the hive, they hand over the material to the receivers. These species of bees are engaged in the processing of pollen.
What do bees collect: nectar or pollen?
Bees collect both nectar and pollen. But the purpose of such mining is different. 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. The bees dip their tongue there, which is folded 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 goiter. Honey is obtained from nectar in a special way after a long process. Pollen from honey plants is collected using a different technology.
Where do bees collect pollen?
There is no special bag for collecting pollen on the body of an insect. Therefore, they collect pollen with their whole body, more precisely, with its villi. The pollen of plants collected by a bee is folded into a basket on its hind legs. It turns out a ball, which, depending on the honey plant, has different shades: from yellow to black. Field bees spend up to two hours of their time a day collecting pollen.
Only bad weather can stop the collection of pollen and nectar. At this time, pollinators are in the hives.
Collection of pollen
The pollen collection process itself consists of several stages:
- With the help of a scout, a bee seeks out fragrant and attractive honey plants.
- Sitting on the selected flower, the insect collects pollen on all villi.
- The product is collected on legs, body, wings.
- The insect neatly combs its paws, collecting prey from all the villi.
- Then he forms a ball and lowers it into the basket on the shins of the hind legs.
To create one balloon, you need to fly around a thousand flowers. Then, with her prey, the worker flies into the hive. Here she dumps pollen into the cells. This happens with the help of special spurs, which are located on the middle legs. Next comes the processing of the obnozhka.
Reset and recycling of the obnozhka
After dumping the pollen into cells that are closer to the brood, the bees begin to process it. This is the work of insects that do not fly out of the hive. Pollen is processed by young insects.
- Loosen the lumps of pollen with the jaws.
- Moistened with nectar and saliva glands.
- Rammed heads.
- Pour the fermented pollen with honey.
- Sealed with wax.
In this form, the obnozhka 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 harvest pollen so that there is enough food for a successful wintering and for feeding the brood. If less than 18 kg of pollen is collected in a year, then the bee family will be on the verge of death and may not survive the winter.
How bees carry pollen from flower to flower
In order to collect 20 mg of pollen, an insect flies around a thousand honey plants. The bees pollinate the flowers. Pollen is the male sex cells. If the plants are monoecious, then the male cells must be delivered to the female flowers for fertilization.
When collecting nectar and pollen, the insect flies from flower to flower. Part of the collected pollen from the villi of the insect remains in the flower. This is how bees pollinate plants. By this, 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 the honey plants 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, Ivan tea.
Many vegetables in the garden and in greenhouses are also pollinated by insects. These include: cucumbers, onions, pumpkins, some varieties of tomato, peppers and eggplant.
How to attract bees to the greenhouse for pollination
It is important to attract bees to the greenhouse if there are crops that need cross-pollination. Here are a few tips to lure bees into your greenhouse:
- plant flowers in the greenhouse;
- provide free access for bees to collect pollen;
- put an apiary near the greenhouse;
- use various baits;
- completely neutralize foreign odors.
You can attract bees to the greenhouse with 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 maximum number of doors and vents are equipped in the greenhouse, which are opened in hot weather suitable for pollination.
It is also recommended to plant sunflowers, jasmine or petunias in the greenhouse as attracting plants.
It’s great if there is an apiary next to the greenhouse.
The following substances are used as baits:
- sugar syrup with the aroma of the necessary flowers, in which case pollinators will fly precisely to this smell;
- make bee feeders with sugar syrup and transfer them to the greenhouse;
- use aromatic oils to attract insects: mint or anise.
When using feeders, it is not necessary to constantly keep them in the greenhouse, you can take them out for a while. But it is not recommended to take the feeders further than 700 m from the greenhouse.
How to attract bees to cucumbers
It is not difficult to attract bees to pollinate cucumbers. The vegetable can grow both in the greenhouse and in the open field. You can attract bees to the greenhouse to collect nectar by spraying all the cucumbers with a special solution. The recipe is simple:
Mix 1 liter of water at room temperature with a large spoonful 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, a bee colony can be settled 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. At the same time, in a glass greenhouse, it is recommended to darken the windows behind the hive with a cloth or a sheet of cardboard, plywood.
Conclusion
Bees carry pollen from flower to flower. This is how cross-pollination occurs. Thanks to this process, you can get a big harvest both in the garden and in the 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 family of bees live no further than 2 km from the home greenhouse. Otherwise, the insects simply will not fly.
