Just about everybody is aware of that bees are critically vital pollinators. You’ve most likely heard the previous admonishment that with out them, about half of the crops and different crops that folks rely on would stop to exist.
Possibly that’s true, I don’t know, however I do know that issues will solely worsen with out our pleasant bees!
However talking of pollination, it happens as a result of bees collect pollen as they go from flower to flower, and a few simply occur to rub off on others. We all know that as a result of they’ve particular baskets on their legs to hold it. However simply what do bees do with pollen, anyway?
Bees collect pollen as a result of it’s a essential meals supply for the hive, particularly for older larvae and employees. Some employee bees collect pollen and others flip it into bee bread for storage, which is simpler to eat and digest.
Seems, bees aren’t doing the entire pollination factor out of the goodness of their tiny little hearts. Pollination really occurs by chance as a result of bees need the pollen for themselves!
Pollen is an important useful resource for a beehive and with out it, the well being of the hive will falter, fail and ultimately lead to colony collapse. No joke, and no surprise they work so exhausting…
There are much more fascinating details to find out about pollen and why bees need it so badly, so maintain studying…
Employee Bees Collect Pollen for Meals
The underside line is that pollen is meals for bees, and particularly it’s the most important supply of protein for your entire hive.
Not like different flying, stinging bugs like wasps and hornets, bees are strictly gatherers, not hunters. They don’t chase down and kill different bugs or some other creatures to get protein in animal kind. Pollen, and some different incidental gadgets, are all they make use of.
However to get the pollen, bees should gather it, and older employee bees which have “graduated” to area responsibility, that’s work exterior the hive, hunt down flowers situated by scout bees or by their very own efforts, after which begin greedily gathering pollen from them. As soon as the hampers on their hind legs are full, they return to the hive.
Pollen is the Major Meals Supply for All Staff and Older Bee Larvae
Bees work so exhausting, tirelessly, actually, to get pollen as a result of it’s important for the survival of the hive.
That’s as a result of it’s pollen, not honey, that’s the main and typical meals of all employee bees and older bee larvae. Bees depend on honey extra throughout the winter, however it’s the pollen that will get them via most days.
When all of the industrious bees which might be sustaining the hive, from employees within the type of nurse bees, royal attendants, guard bees, scout bees, and gatherers want meals, they eat pollen that has been specifically ready for them by youthful employees contained in the hive.
The following technology of employees additionally will depend on gathered pollen for meals, particularly larvae which might be too previous to eat the secretions regurgitated by nurse bees which might be fed to the youngest amongst them.
Pollen is always consumed within the hive when it’s obtainable, however even as soon as it’s introduced in, it isn’t fairly prepared to move to the dinner desk so to talk.
Gathering Staff Don’t Eat Pollen As-Is, They Simply Carry It
Earlier than we go on, I ought to level out that whereas pollen is a essential foodstuff for the hive, the bees which might be gathering it within the area or ready on the hive don’t eat it as-is.
I suppose you possibly can take a look at it as being towards the principles to dip into the hive’s provide, however the precise motive why they don’t do it’s as a result of the pollen must be processed to make it extra nutritious and digestible.
Staff within the Hive Course of and Pack Away Pollen as “Bee Bread”
Probably the most fascinating factor that occurs to pollen as soon as it’s gathered and dropped off by the sector employees contained in the hive is that different employees will take it, secrete saliva on it, after which pack it away in little balls, usually known as pellets.
They kind these balls by tamping them with their heads, and the ensuing pellet is known as bee bread, or typically known as ambrosia.
This closing step is what turns the pollen into that important meals supply, as a result of it’s going to have a super mixture of protein, nutritional vitamins, minerals, sugar, and important fatty acids that bees have to thrive and keep wholesome.
The secretions made by the “baker” bee will break the pollen down and make it extra digestible by all bees when it’s eaten.
For this reason the gathering bees and different bees don’t cease consuming pollen as it’s recent from the flower: it’s extra environment friendly and higher in the long term for it to be processed first!
As soon as the pollen has been changed into bee bread, it’s packed away inside its devoted cells of honeycomb for storage till it’s damaged out and eaten as wanted.
The person pellets of bee bread are additionally sealed with a single droplet of honey in an effort to add these sugars and additional protect it towards spoilage and contamination.
With out Processing, Pollen Can Simply Spoil
Pollen is very energetic when it comes to microbial life, and most has varied strains of fungi and different issues already. Left untended, or stashed as it’s, contained in the hive, it’s going to rapidly mould.
Many sorts of mould are extremely dangerous to bees, and this is the reason they’re so diligent and fast to course of collected pollen into bee bread; it’s the one approach to ensure it’s going to maintain for a time!
Bee Bread is Extremely Nutritious, however Extremely Variable Too!
One other attention-grabbing reality about pollen, within the type of bee bread, is that the dietary composition can range significantly relying on which plant particularly the pollen was gathered from.
The general well being of the person employee bees that make it additionally impacts the ensuing dietary profile as a result of their secretions are those that add enzymes and different vitamins that all the bees will want.
Accordingly, a wholesome hive that’s gathering from very wholesome sources of pollen shall be even more healthy and develop quicker total, whereas a weaker hive inhabitants with crappy meals sources will not be going to develop as quick or be as wholesome. Even the every day and weekly well being of the plant itself impacts the standard of the bee bread!
Like each different animal in nature, weight-reduction plan and setting make an enormous distinction for bees, and nowhere is that this extra obvious than the impression that the standard of the pollen has on their life!
Pollen is Not Used Straight within the Manufacturing of Honey
A typical false impression we must always squash proper now could be that pollen is used to make honey. Strictly talking, it’s not: honey is fashioned from nectar that’s processed and dehydrated previous to storage inside its personal devoted cells contained in the hive.
Pollen will not be a intentionally added ingredient, though with out pollen bees won’t have the vitamin and vitality wanted to collect and course of honey.
In a approach, you possibly can say that pollen remains to be mandatory for the manufacturing of honey, however it’s not an ingredient of honey.
Honey is Used to Protect Bee Bread, Although!
Conversely, as talked about above, honey is a mandatory ingredient for completed bee bread as a result of it’s used so as to add sugar, and carbohydrates, and in addition to assist protect the bee bread towards spoilage.
In Extremis, Bees Can Eat Synthetic Pollen
Beekeepers, when typical meals sources aren’t round or when bees are simply having a very exhausting time finding them, might give their bees another weight-reduction plan consisting of synthetic pollen.
This synthetic pollen is certainly a powder, like pollen, however it’s produced from different meals elements like egg and milk proteins, yeast, corn gluten, and sometimes added nutritional vitamins and minerals that bees want.
Nonetheless, whereas this may maintain them alive and may also help jump-start a confused or recovering hive, these meals invariably lack important vitamins that bees should have in an effort to survive and thrive.
It seems that there isn’t any substitute for the true factor, and a beehive will not be anticipated to outlive on a continuous weight-reduction plan of synthetic pollen regardless of how good it’s marketed as being.
