Pepper
A self-pollinating vegetable whose fruit set and size improve with bee visits; nectar and pollen are scarce, so it matters for pollination service rather than honey.
- Nectar
- Low
- Pollen
- Low
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,4-1 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
Pepper flowers are single, nodding and white; they give small amounts of nectar and pollen. Honey bees usually visit a pepper field only when there is no more attractive source nearby. The plant can self-pollinate, but bee visits increase the number of seeds and the evenness and size of the fruit; this effect is especially clear in greenhouse peppers.
Flowering
In the open field it flowers continuously from June to September; in greenhouses, depending on the growing schedule, there are flowers almost all year round.
Honey and pollen
No commercial honey is obtained from pepper; its nectar makes a very small contribution to mixed summer honeys.
Note for the beekeeper
Bumblebees are usually used for pollination in greenhouses; honey bees have trouble orienting in enclosed spaces and suffer losses. If hives are placed at the edge of a field, discuss the spraying schedule with the grower and have spraying moved to the evening. Greenhouse pesticides pose a serious risk to bees.