Winter squash
A long-vined winter squash from South America; its big flowers give bees plenty of nectar and pollen in the morning, and fruit set needs bees.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0,5-1 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
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Like other squashes, winter squash bears separate male and female flowers; pollen must be carried by bees to fertilise the female flowers. The large yellow flowers give plenty of nectar and coarse-grained pollen; male flowers are more numerous and stand out as a pollen source.
Flowering
It flowers from late June to September. The flowers open at sunrise and on hot days close before noon, so bee visits are concentrated in the first hours of the morning.
Honey and pollen
It is not known as a single-flower honey; around gardens and fields it contributes to summer honeys. The pollen loads are orange-yellow, and the large grains make packing hard for the bee.
Note for the beekeeper
Female flowers that receive few visits produce small, misshapen fruit. In commercial production, placing 1-2 colonies per hectare and spraying only after the flowers have closed protects fruit quality.