Nectar and Pollen Sources

Nectar and pollen sources are the flowering plants from which the honey bee collects its food, together with the trees that yield honeydew; these sources, far more than anything the beekeeper does, determine how much a colony will grow and how much honey it will produce. Nectar provides the colony's energy, and pollen provides the protein for the brood. This page summarises how to assess forage, the seasonal calendar, and how you can improve the surroundings of your apiary.

Nectar, pollen and honeydew: what do bees take from flowers?

Bees collect what is available around them; they cannot create what is not there. Everything that enters the hive comes from three main sources, and each has a different function for the colony:

• Nectar: A sugary liquid secreted by the nectaries of flowers. Bees evaporate its water and ripen it, turning it into honey. It is the energy source for flight, for heating the hive and for winter stores.
• Pollen: The male reproductive cells of the flower; it contains protein, fats, vitamins and minerals. Packed into comb cells and fermented, it becomes bee bread (perga). Nurse bees depend on bee bread to produce brood food; a colony without pollen cannot raise brood.
• Honeydew: A sugary liquid excreted by certain insects (aphids, scale insects) that suck plant sap. Pine honey and oak honey come from this source. Details are on the "Trees and Forest Sources" page.

In addition, bees carry water and collect propolis from bud resins. Some plants provide both nectar and pollen; others only one of them. For example, rockrose (Cistus) flowers provide plenty of pollen but no nectar, and wind-pollinated plants such as pine and maize offer only pollen.

What makes a plant valuable for bees?

Not every flower is of equal value to bees. The importance of a plant for beekeeping is determined by these features together:

• Nectar quantity and sugar content: Bees prefer sugar-rich nectar; they visit plants with watery, sugar-poor nectar (such as pear) little when other forage is available.
• Pollen quantity and quality: Protein content varies by plant. Abundant pollen of low nutritional value will not feed a colony on its own.
• Flower density: Many flowers in a small area mean the bee collects more while flying less. That is why trees and large cropped fields are strong sources.
• Flowering time and duration: Whether a source coincides with the period when the colony needs it can matter even more than its quantity.
• Accessibility: In plants with very deep flower tubes (such as red clover), the honey bee's tongue has difficulty reaching the nectar.
• Distance: Honey bees mostly work within 1–3 km of the hive; in a dearth they may go further, but a distant source costs more (more flight energy).

Honey flow calendar: what flowers when?

When assessing an area, what matters more than the number of plants is how flowering is spread across the season. The table below is a general framework for Türkiye; flowering dates shift by weeks depending on region, altitude and the year's weather. A plant that flowers in March on the Mediterranean coast may flower in June on a high plateau.

In many regions there is a dearth period (a break in the honey flow) in midsummer. During this time robbing increases and the queen cuts back on laying. A short, intense bloom is generally less valuable than a long, balanced chain of sources.

What conditions affect nectar secretion?

A plant being in flower does not mean it will yield nectar. Secretion depends on these factors:

• Temperature: Each plant has a temperature range for secretion; many plants stop secreting in cool weather.
• Soil moisture: A drought-stressed plant may flower but cuts back its nectar or yields none at all.
• Night temperature and humidity: Warm, humid nights followed by sunny days increase secretion in most plants.
• Wind and rain: They dilute or dry out nectar and prevent bees from flying.
• Soil type and plant variety: Different varieties of the same species (for example sunflower hybrids) can yield very different amounts of nectar.

That is why "the field is full of flowers but the hive is empty" is a common situation. A hive scale gives more reliable information than looking at the flowers.

How do you assess the forage around your apiary?

1. Walk the flight area: Note the trees, fields, scrub and waste ground within 2–3 km of the hive.
2. Use a scale: Put one hive on a scale and follow the daily weight change. Weight gain is the real indicator of forage.
3. Watch the incoming pollen: The colour of the pollen loads arriving at the entrance shows which plants are being worked at the time (colour chart on the "Pollen Analysis and Honey Character" page).
4. Write your own calendar: Record year by year which plant flowered on which date, the gain on the scale and the weather.
5. Talk to local beekeepers: Local experience provides knowledge that no general list can.

The fourth point is the most valuable. After a few seasons these records become a honey flow calendar specific to your area, making decisions on migration, splits and harvesting easier.

Why does pollen diversity affect colony health?

The amino acid composition and protein content of pollen vary with the plant species. Pollen from a single source can be an incomplete food package.

A colony that receives varied pollen is generally more resilient: the brood is better fed, the nurse bees' glands develop well, and the bees going into winter live longer. If an area has plenty of nectar but little pollen, the colony makes honey but cannot grow; in the opposite case the brood increases but stores do not build up. This imbalance is marked in colonies that depend on a single crop (for example, large sunflower fields) for a long time.

What can be done to improve forage?

• Support late sources: The late-summer gap is the weakest link in most regions; plants flowering in this period directly improve wintering.
• Discuss mowing regimes: Suggest to landowners and local councils that flowering verges be mown late and in sections. This gives results much faster than planting.
• Sow a bee pasture: Plants such as phacelia, sainfoin, clover and sweet clover quickly create forage on bare land.
• Plant trees and shrubs: Species such as willow, lime, chestnut and maple provide forage for years. Prefer native species.
• Choose single-flowered varieties: Double-flowered ornamentals often provide no pollen.

What is in this section?

The nectar and pollen sources section covers the subject in detail by type of source: orchards and pollination, agricultural land (sunflower, oilseed rape, cotton, alfalfa, citrus), trees and forest sources (chestnut, lime, black locust, pine honey), wild plants (thyme, sage, viper's bugloss, milkvetch, heather), garden and ornamental plants, regional and endemic sources, and pages on pollen analysis and honey character.