Every species of bees collects pollen in their own way. One kind may store it and carry it on the hairs on their abdomen, other kinds may carry it to their hives on their hind legs, and others may collect pollen on their hairy bodies. These ways of collecting pollen, help the pollination process, as they are carrying it while flying and stopping on different plants. Do you ever wonder how do bees collect pollen?
How much pollen can the bees collect?
Some bees can carry up to 80% of their weight. It really depends on the particular bee-species. The bee Colletes Cunicularis needs 7 trips to collect the amount of pollen needed for one egg. On the other hand, the bee Anthemurgus Passiflorae needs to take 35 trips for one egg. There is a reason why bees are known for their hard work. They do all this while doing additional stops to different flowers on their way.
What is the pollen collection, carrying and transportation process like?
One of the ways of collecting and storing pollen is on the bee’s hind legs. The pollen is getting attached to the furry body of the bee. Being attached like this, and having in mind that they are flying through the air, they become negatively charged with static electricity. So, when the bee finds a new flower to land on, it starts knocking the pollen from its fragile anthers. In the end, bees have their collected pollen stick to the statically charged hair which covers their body. As a result, the bee is completely covered with pollen. Hence, it uses its legs for wiping the pollen off of the body. Doing so, it pushes the pollen down to the stiff hair of its abdomen and legs. As soon as the bee gets to the hive, it unloads the pollen.
Another interesting thing to know is that the queen bee does not collect pollen and only has the role to mate or to lead the process of swarming. Honey bee workers are the ones that do collect pollen. On the other hand, the Bumblebee workers and queens collect and transfer pollen.
Which flowers attract bees and can they take the pollen from any kind of flower?
The same as people, bees do not “eat” everything. Ones can be attracted by any flower, where others may have some special taste for flowers. This depends on the kind of flower and the kind of bee. The method of collecting the pollen, the size and body of the bees must match the features of a certain flower.
More specifically, when we talk about bees collecting pollen only from one specific plant, we talk about monolectic bees. In the case of bees collecting pollen only from a few types of flowers, the bees are called oligolectic. And, this is, for example, the Small Scissor Bee. It collects pollen only from bell flowers. The bees that can collect their pollen from a very wide range of types and colours of flowers are called polylectic. This is the case with the honey bees.
Read more about How honey bees make the pollen pellets.
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