HONEY BEE & POLLINATION

Nutritional Value of Bee Collected Pollen

  • 166 pages

  • Published: 1 May 2001

  • Author(s): Somerville, DC

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All enterprises relating to beekeeping activities in Australia require careful attention to the nutritional requirements of the developing bees.

Decision making concerning nutritional strategies by commercial beekeepers has been historically based on anecdotal evidence from field observations. Successful strategies, when repeated, may not always produce the same results in following seasons.

The qualitative measurement of bee collected pollen will allow beekeepers to improve the process on which decisions are made regarding various management strategies regarding the nutritional requirements of honey bees.

The need to improve beekeeping management practices, as they relate to nutritional needs of bee colonies, was highlighted by RIRDC at a workshop held in May 1998. The workshop titled, “Strategic Planning and Action Meeting for Honey Bee Nutrition”, organised by Mr GJ Kleinschmidt, the then Chairman of HBRDC, recommended the analysis of pollens to gain further qualitative data on Australian pollens.