Adrian L. Carper
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An unlikely pollen source

8/8/2018

3 Comments

 
I observed a couple of two-spotted sunflower bees, Melissodes bimaculatus, foraging for pollen on this Floriani Red Flint corn in Boulder, CO. While it may seem strange, I observe bees foraging on corn and other grass for pollen fairly frequently. These could provide important resources if other host plants are scarce or may be used to supplement pollen provisions. These two bees returned repeatedly and filled their scopa up each time. You can easily see the yellow corn pollen packed onto their hind legs. 
3 Comments
Brian Dykstra link
8/8/2018 08:28:14 pm

Thank you for sharing. Bee use of grass pollen is an interesting topic. I have seen stingless bees (Melopinini) and Apis mellifera gather pollen from grasses. Dino Martin has written on this topic (location Kenya), and I would like to see a global overview, literature/observation summary, published.

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lin9
9/24/2018 06:55:59 am

my corn!!!

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Mimi
8/5/2021 12:05:13 pm

Just discovered these bees in Louisville. They are hanging out on the salvia and some other grasses. I was going to clean up that area of the garden but I guess I leave it bee.

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