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Author Topic: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?  (Read 6520 times)

Offline Honeytree

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How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« on: March 12, 2011, 07:43:28 am »
A friend of mine was asking this the other day, and I realized that I know how the pollen gets into the pollen basket, but I don't know exactly how they take it off. Do certain other bees do that? Does the bee herself do that as soon as she goes in? Do they unload it directly into pollen cells?

Thanks for any insights.

Offline Bee-Bop

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2011, 08:19:00 am »
A lot of beekeeping books give detailed information on this subject, some better then others.

Your public library is a good place to get a very good start in beekeeping, they have books, or can get them thru inter-library loan.

Bee-Bop
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Offline iddee

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2011, 08:27:26 am »
If she wanted to get it from books, she wouldn't need the forum. I have seen many posts where they had left another forum just for that reason. If you don't know an answer, you should just leave it for someone who does. We don't need new members being told to go elsewhere for answers.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline T Beek

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2011, 08:48:21 am »
YEOW! iddee, a little cranky this morning? ;)

I think the house bees do the majority of pollen removal from the foragers and storage selection but memory is a funny thing.

thomas
« Last Edit: March 12, 2011, 11:49:53 am by T Beek »
"Trust those who seek the truth, doubt those who say they've found it."

Offline FRAMEshift

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2011, 08:53:45 am »
We don't need new members being told to go elsewhere for answers.
Yep, that's what I was thinking.  

Yes, the foragers unload the pollen directly into the cells by using their other legs to scrape it off the hind pollen baskets.  There is an interesting lesson to be learned about bee behavior here.  We rightly think of the hive as possessing a level of intelligence.  But while individual bees may sometimes also seem intelligent, their behavior is better thought of as a string of simple reflexes.

If a pollen collector is placed at the entrance of the hive, the returning foragers lose the pollen in their baskets.  But they still go to the pollen storage cell and go through the motions of scraping non-existent pollen from the baskets.  An individual bee is not able to reason that if there is no pollen, there is no point in scraping it off.  It's all programmed.
"You never can tell with bees."  --  Winnie-the-Pooh

Offline FRAMEshift

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2011, 08:57:42 am »
YEOW! iddee, a little cranky this morning? ;)

Iddee is always cranky.  Doesn't mean he's not right.  :-D
"You never can tell with bees."  --  Winnie-the-Pooh

Offline edward

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2011, 08:58:18 am »
Don't know the specific answer to you question but hear are some other interesting things about pollen.

When bees fly through the air their hairs produce static electricity , when they land on a flower the pollen is drawn to them in the discharge.

 Then they brush it down to the bees knees with there arms and legs

How do they pack the pollen into the wax cells ? they pack it in by head butting it in to compact it .

mvh edward :P
« Last Edit: March 12, 2011, 09:15:37 am by edward »

Offline T Beek

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2011, 09:10:41 am »
YEOW! iddee, a little cranky this morning? ;)

Iddee is always cranky.  Doesn't mean he's not right.  :-D
  I'm still waiting for iddee's answer to the question.

thomas
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Offline iddee

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2011, 09:22:02 am »
I have read too many posts by first time posters who said they left another forum because the only answer they ever got was "go read a book". I just don't want to cause new posters to leave this forum.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline Tommyt

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2011, 10:17:30 am »
Iddee
You were right on in the first BeeBop did the same to me
this new guy was just told by him to go educate himself $^*! is that for a
learning forum answer
you come here to ask learn not be told go read a book
JMHO
Iddee

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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #10 on: March 12, 2011, 11:22:56 am »
Interestingly a bee can  unload their own pollen, but they cannot unload their own propolis.  I've seen them spend quite an long time finding someone to unload them when they have a load of propolis.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
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Offline Honeytree

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #11 on: March 12, 2011, 11:45:11 am »
Thanks for the replies, y'all.

I am on the waiting list at my library for the "bee books." After my local beekeepers' association introductory short course two weekends ago, there was suddenly a great demand for them! I guess that's a compliment to the organizers, but it means I have to go hunting down information elsewhere in the meantime.

Also, I thought folks who regularly saw the process at work might have interesting insights to share along with the basic mechanics.

Again, thanks.

Offline Acebird

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #12 on: March 12, 2011, 12:05:50 pm »
Quote
We don't need new members being told to go elsewhere for answers.

Well there is a novel idea.  I feel the same thing happen to me but as you should all know by now I am more persistant than the average guy. ;)
Brian Cardinal
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Offline edward

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #13 on: March 12, 2011, 01:22:44 pm »
We have all bee new bees at one time , I myself have asked my share of larvae bee questions .  :roll: :-D

Hope i still have some .

Thanks to all that have taken the time to help , hope I can give a little back.

I think it´s great that more people are getting interested ,

they have taken the plunge , lets teach them to swim.

mvh edward  :-P

The stupipest question is the one never asked

Offline VolunteerK9

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #14 on: March 12, 2011, 07:38:30 pm »
Personally, I'm glad the question was asked cuz I really didnt know myself. (Ive read at least a dozen different books on beekeeping my first year.) I also just learned the little piece o trivia about the static electricty being produced during flight. Reckon as a joke they fly around and touch each other on the nose? Ask away Honeytree, someone will always chime in with an answer or two or twelve. The questions and answers benefit us all. Welcome to the site.

Offline Acebird

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #15 on: March 13, 2011, 11:34:52 am »
Quote
The questions and answers benefit us all. Welcome to the site.

 ;)
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Offline sterling

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Re: How do the bees remove the pollen from their baskets?
« Reply #16 on: March 13, 2011, 08:48:49 pm »
Some of my bees aren't too good at the unloading and putting in the cells part, they are all time dropping little loads and it falls through the screen onto the board. :roll: But it is not all wasted I take my knife blade and pick it up, pretty good stuff. Taste like the flower smells. :-D