Flower pollen

ABOUT FLOWER POLLEN

The interaction between bees and pollen

While we humans associate pollen negatively and tend to associate it with allergies, pollen plays a very important role in the world of bees. The term "pollen" comes from the Latin and means "dust meal, fine dust" and is considered to be the best that the plant produces.

As the name suggests, pollen is produced when plants are in bloom. Bees and other insects are attracted by the scent of the flower. Each plant differs in its color, shape and the scents that are released. For millions of years there has been a wonderful composition, an interplay between flowers and insects, especially bees. Not only nature depends on this interaction, the pollination, but also the entire evolution of living beings for billions of years. It is like an agreement, a contract: the bees receive the nectar of the flowering plants and ensure the spread of the zoogamous pollen so that the plants can reproduce and a stable nature can be maintained. In this reproduction, bees provide around 90 percent of the pollination. This pollination not only enables the spread of "normal" flowering plants, but also contributes to the propagation of cultivated and useful plants (apples, melons, cherries, pumpkins, almonds, onions, etc.).

The importance of pollen for the bee world

Flower pollen is a pure source of protein for bees. In addition to protein, the pollen provides the small insects with fats, vitamins, essential amino acids and nutrients. A deficit of this pollen can lead to slow and stagnant development of bees and bee colonies. The nutrients in pollen play a particularly important role in the development and activity of young and worker bees. Only through this pollen can the bees build up enough fat for the winter. The quality plays a role in that it has an effect on bee venom, royal jelly and beeswax. The pollen has an effect on the bees' glands and thus on their function (important for bee venom and enzymes that are formed).

The properties & effects of pollen

The different flower pollen of the plants already differ in their size. The diameter of these pollen grains can range from 7 to 200 micrometers (average 20 to 45 micrometers). While sweet chestnut, eucalyptus and forget-me-not are among the smallest flower pollen, corn, pumpkins, basil and bananas are among the largest pollen. Almost all plants that can also produce nectar also have pollen, but the bees decide which plant pollen is suitable and profitable. The plants produce most of their pollen on the warm days, three days after the last rain. In general, plants produce pollen throughout the day, but there are exceptions, such as pumpkins or poppies, which produce their pollen in the morning, and apricots or magnolias, which produce their pollen in the afternoon. Due to the plant, the pollen is rich in active ingredients and nutrients and can have special properties due to the bioactive substances present. Good quality pollen should also be preferred in consideration of important properties:

• Consistency: soft (fresh), firm and hard (dry & processed)
• Appearance: whole pollen grains, fragments (triangular, round, semicircular, etc.)
• Color: light yellow to black (varies depending on plant source)
• Odor: specific (varies depending on plant source)
• Taste: sweet to bitter (varies depending on plant source)
• Purity: no impurities (no large and microscopic ones)

Flower pollen not only has great effects on bees and bee colonies, it can also have an impact on human well-being. Fresh pollen is not only of the highest quality, it also contains more nutrients and can have a greater effect on treatments.

Important pollen

IMPORTANT:
The consumption of pollen is not a substitute for a normal and healthy diet! Flower pollen can only support well-being and provide the body with vitamins, minerals and nutrients. A balanced and varied diet is still of great importance!