Common poppy
A nectarless field flower offering plenty of dark pollen in the early morning; a valuable pollen source for brood rearing in April-June.
- Nectar
- None
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0,3-0,8 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
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The common poppy is an annual that flowers en masse in cereal fields, on fallows, along roadsides and banks. Its flowers secrete no nectar; they attract bees with abundant pollen only. Each flower carries many anthers and offers its pollen early in the morning, usually until midday. During these hours there is heavy bee traffic in a poppy field.
Flowering
It flowers in April on the coast and in May-June inland. A single flower often lasts only a day or two, but since new buds keep opening, a field stays in flower for 3-4 weeks.
Honey and pollen
It yields no honey. The pollen loads are dark grey to black, sometimes bluish-green, and easy to recognise at the hive entrance; in a pollen trap they stand out as a distinctive colour.
Note for the beekeeper
It has declined sharply in cereal fields because of herbicides. Poppy strips along field edges are a valuable protein source for spring brood; added to seed mixes, it is easy to use in bee-friendly strips.