Pollen harvest

Note: Most of the content was retrieved from the books "Beekeeping Manual for beginners" by Holeta Bee Research Center and the APIRE project . and from "Advanced Beekeeping Manual by Ethiopian Beekeepers Association and Netherlands Development Organization (SNV-Ethiopia).

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Besides carbohydrates, minerals, lipids, vitamins and water, honey bees need proteins for a balanced diet. The only protein source for bees is plant pollen. Worker bees feed pollen to brood. Pollen grains are small, male reproduction units (gametophytes) formed in the anthers of the higher flowering plants.Pollen is also valuable for human consumption and therefore pollen is a valuable honey bee product. Pollen collection from the incoming pollen loaded bees can be done by removing pollen pellets from the bees before they enter the hive using specially designed a device called pollen trap. There are many designs of pollen traps (Figure) with the efficiency rarely exceeds 50%, i.e. less than 50% of the returning foragers loose their pollen pellets. In this ways, it is possible to collect marketable size of pollen without affecting or interfering the normal honey production processes. Under some circumstances, pollen collection methods and regimes may interfere with normal colony growth or honey production.