Honey bees are attracted to the flowering plants, and they collect nectar and pollen from them. The attraction of the bees is part of a mutually beneficial relationship that the flowering plants and the bees share. The bees gain food, and the flowering plants are pollinated, a necessary step in their reproduction. The bees are generally not attracted to the grasses, though. The grasses reproduce by wind pollination and do not need insects to carry the pollen. One grass does attract honey bees at times, and the plant is corn. Honey bees may be seen flying down rows of corn. As the bees fly, their hairy bodies take on an electrostatic charge. Flying among the tassels of corn plants, the pollen jumps onto the hairs of the bees’ bodies. Back at the hive, the corn pollen, along with other pollens, is mixed with honey to make bee bread to be feed to the brood. A diverse diet of pollens makes for good nutrition for the developing bees. Pollen contains protein, vitamins, minerals, and fats, or lipids. While the honey bees bring some corn pollen into the hive, corn produces no nectar; so there is no honey made from corn.In the photo we can see broom corn being grown as produce at Whitton Farms in the foreground. In the distance, beyond the Peace Bee Farm bee hives that pollinate the Whitton produce and flowers, you can see a large field of corn. This variety of corn seen in the distance is most likely to produce grain to be converted into ethanol for fuel. To see more about the activity at Whitton Farms, visit their web site, http://whittonfarms.com/.
--Richard
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Well, that explains that! I was disappointed to see that the nearby farmers had planted corn, knew it was wind pollinated but wondered if it was doing my bees any good. I've noticed plenty of pollen but not much honey in my new hives. A little internet search on "honey bees and corn" brought me to this page. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if BT ready and roundup ready corn does any damage to honey bees?
ReplyDeleteStephen,
ReplyDeleteBt crops are genetically modified organisms. They contain a gene borrowed from the Bacillus thuringiensus bacteria. This modification allows the corn plant to produce its own Bt insecticidal protein. Michael Schacker reports in A Spring Without Bees: How Colony Collapse Disorder Has Endangered Our Food Supply, 2008, that Bt crops and GMOs are not correlated with Colony Collapse Disorder.
In response to CCD, researchers are looking at all chemicals used around bee hives. Herbicides, like Roundup, are being tested now. However, results have not been published.
A class of insecticides, the neonicotinoids, is highly suspected by beekeepers as being involved in CCD and honey bee health problems. Among these systemic insecticides are imidacloprid and clothianidin. For more, see the December 24, 2010 post.
--Richard