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Nectar and Pollen Providing Plants for Honey Bees Terra Freeman, Small Farms and Alternative Enterprise Extension Agent, UF / IFAS Duval County Extension Honey bee’s basic nutritional needs: • • • • • • Proteins (amino acids) Carbohydrates (sugars) Minerals Fats / lipids (fatty acids) Vitamins Water To meet these needs, bees collect and consume: • Nectar (honey) • Pollen (bee bread) • Water Nectar Bees convert nectar to honey, which serves as primary source of carbohydrates for bees. Provides energy for: • Flight • Colony maintenance • General daily activities Credit: Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory, UF. Also provides minerals: • Calcium • Copper • Potassium • Magnesium • Sodium Pollen Worker bee carrying pollen in her pollen baskets. Pollen Composition: water (7%-16%); crude protein (6%-30%); ether extract (1%-14%); carbs including reducing sugars (19%41%), non-reducing sugars (0%-9%), starch (0%-11%) lipids (5%) ash (1%-6%) unknown (22%-36%). Pollen (bee bread) is honey bee’s main source of protein. Also provides fats / lipids, minerals, and vitamins. This protein is vital to brood production and development of young bees. Pollen that has been collected from a pollen trap placed on the bottom board of a bee hive. Credit: Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab, UF Bee’s Perspective: • Does the flower have attractive color patterns and aromas? • Can the pollen be readily released from the anther? • Is the protein content in the pollen high enough to meet nutritional needs? • Is there a nectar reward hidden in the flower? Anatomical diagram of a flower. Extrafloral Nectaries Ensuring Colony Nutrition • Make sure plants in the area actually provide pollen and nectar. • Pollen quality is more important than quantity. • Variety, Variety, Variety!!! Factors: • Many plants produce pollen for bees, but nectar producing species are of most interest to beekeepers as few plants are capable of secreting the vast amount of nectar required by honey bees to produce a honey crop • Large tracts of plants are necessary to produce a good honey crop • Proximity of colonies to plants is important • Most beekeepers move colonies 2 to 3 times during the nectar-producing season. Plant Location Conditions affecting plants vary from year to year, and from place to place: • Soil • pH • Moisture Conditions Bees dance to communicate with each other the best place to go each hour of the day! Protecting Bees from Pesticides • Most pesticides are non-specific. They kill both the pest species and any insect visiting the plant when it is still wet. • Communicate with nearby farmers and mosquito control so you can be notified before pesticide applications Major Land Resource Areas Plants that produce named honey: Intense collection in short intervals • • • • • • • Citrus (Citrus spp.) Gallberry (Ilex glabra) Clovers- several (Trifolium spp.) Palmettos (Serenoa, Sabal spp.) Ogeechee Tupelo (Nyssa ogeche) Black Gum Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica v. biflora) Sour Gum Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica v. sylvatica) Citrus spp.. Bloom period: Feb. to April Gallberry (Ilex glabra) Bloom period: March to May Crimson Clover Red Clover ??? Sweet Clover White Clover Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor) Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens) Scrub Palmetto (Sabal etonia) Cabbage Palmetto (Sabal palmetto) Black Gum Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica v. biflora): Bloom period: April to May Sour Gum Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica v. sylvatica): Bloom period: April to May Ogeechee Tupelo (Nyssa ogeche): Blooms April to May Other possible named honey plants: Willows (Salix spp.) Spanish Needles (Bidens spp.) Goldenrods (Solidago) Asters (Aster spp.) Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) Carolina Willow (Salix caroliniana) Bloom period: March to April Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) Bloom period: Aug. to Nov Aster laevis Bloom period: Fall Bloom period: June to Mid- July Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) Wildflower Honey Plants: Colony Maintenance Plants Tickseeds (Coreopsis spp.) Narrow – leaf or Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) Blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella) Blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Primrose Willows (Ludwigia spp.) Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) St. John’s Wort (Hypericum spp.) Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Giant Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea) Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) Powderpuff (Mimosa stigillosa) Drummond Phlox (Phlox drummondii) Ampelopsis arboreas (Pepper Vine) Blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella) Bloom period: May to Oct. Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) Bloom period: Sept. to Oct. Photo credit: Mary Derrick, UF/IFAS Extension Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) Bloom: June to Oct. Adult Halictus poeyi Lepeletier, a sweat bee, gathering pollen on Coreopsis lanceolata. Photo by Katie Buckley, UF Giant Ironweed: Vernonia gigantea Bloom: June to Oct. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) Bloom: May to Oct. St.St. John’s Wort (Hypericum spp.) John’s Wort (Hypericum spp.) Blooms in Summer Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) Bloom: July to Sept. Powderpuff (Mimosa strigillosa) Blooms Spring to Fall Drummond Phlox (Phlox drummondii) Blooms March to June Pepper Vine (Ampelopsis arboreas) Blooms spring and early summer Can be aggressive Partridge Pea; Cassia (Chamaecrista) fasciculata Blooms June to Sept. Creeping Charlie (Phylla nodiflora) Blooms Year Round Wildflower Honey Trees and Shrubs • • • • • • Redbud (Cercis canadensis) Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) Hollies (Ilex spp.) Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida) Blackberry (Rubus flagellaris) Gopher Apple (Licania michauxii) Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Blooms Jan. to Feb. Redbud (Cercis canadensis) Blooms mid- Jan. to mid- March Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)) Blooms in Spring Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) Hollies bloom from March to May Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida) Blooms Feb. to April Photo credit: Mary Keim Blackberry (Rubus flagellaris) Blooms Mid- Feb. to March Gopher apple, ground oak (Licania michauxii) Blooms May to June Considered weeds by some, but loved by honey bees: Spanish Needles (Bidens alba) Thistles (Cirsium spp.) Mexican Clovers/ Pusley (Richardia spp.) Dog Fennel (Eupatorium capillifolium) Spanish Needles (Bidens alba) Bloom period: Late Summer/ Year round Largeflower Pusley (Richardia grandiflora) Florida Pusley or Rough Mexican Clover, (Richardia scabra) Pusley’s bloom year- round Tropical Mexican Clover or Brazil Pusley, Richardia brasiliensis. Dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium) Blooms Summer to Fall Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolious) Blooms period: Aug. to Oct Invasive! Plants that are toxic to bees Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is suspected of killing or injuring Queen cells. Ti ti or Leatherwood (Cyrilla racemifolia) causes ‘Purple Brood’ (pollen and brood is purplish) References: Flowers Which Sustain our Bees, PPT, by Raymond Zerba, Clay County Extension UF/IFAS ENY152/IN868: The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees ENY-134/AA264: Florida’s Climate and It’s Beekeeping ENY156: Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar