Pollen

[bwallace23350]

So my bees are back to bringing in pollen to my hive after it swarmed. Noticed it today. Deep golden spiderwort pollen. Does this mean that the queen is now laying?

[cao]

IMO bring in pollen is a good sign, but I had a split that the queen didn't make it back from mating.  That hive was almost packed wall to wall with pollen by the time I found they were queenless.  So to me, the only way to know for sure is to inspect the hive, when appropriate, for eggs/larva.

[beepro]

Queen laying and the workers bringing in pollen have no relationship.   During the Spring they will bring in fresh
pollen to replenish their food supply.  With or without broods they will need to eat.  To see the eggs you have to
use a small flesh light to inspect the cells.

[BeeMaster2]

BW,
Usually the house bees control what needs to be brought into the hive. Bees use pollen only for feeding larvae and the queen. The bees only need nectar and water to survive. They build wax with nectar/honey only. They do not replace body cells nor do they molt. That is why they do not need pollen to live.
Most of the time pollen is a good indicator that there is a queen and they either are or expect to be feeding larvae soon. If there is a virgin queen in the hive they will bring in pollen and open up/prep a brood area. Of course, as CAO mentioned, the bees cannot read the rules and sometimes do it differently.
Jim

[GSF]

...a laying worker hive also brings in pollen   

[BeeMaster2]

...a laying worker hive also brings in pollen   

Yes because they have larvae to feed.
Jim

[beepro]

My Italians bees will hoard the pollen when the timing is just right.  Maybe they are anticipating that
I will give them a good queen later on.  Somehow without the larvae to feed they will take in more nectar.

[Michael Bush]

Certainly bringing in pollen is not a bad sign... and there are feedback mechanisms to incite more or less gathering of any resource, but I have seen queenless hive stocking away the pollen, so I wouldn't read too much into it.

[AR Beekeeper]

Sawdustmaker;  The nurse age bees eat the pollen and process the protein, and then they feed the drones and older worker bees of nectar receiver/forager age the protein from their bodies.  The older bees need protein just as do the younger.

"Protein balance of the honey bee worker," by K. Crailsheim.  Apidologie (1990) 21, 417-429

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Chitin, the substance that is the insect shell is composed of, is a protein and a sugar combined.  Sawdust, Master Jim, has a point, once matured, a forager has little need for structure but requires constant supply of sugar(nectar) for energy.  However Ar also has a point, that nurse bees need protein for royal jelly among other resources.

Now a bee can create SOME of its required proteins from sugar, nitrogen, sulphur and a few other compuonds similar to mammals creating proteins,  but I do not know how many proteins an insect can create; there are limits.  If memory serves me correctly there or only 23 basic proteins.  I believe the endoplasmic reticulum is the organelle responsible for making proteins,,,,, in microbes at least.

Maybe another Beek can verify my text, my knowledge is antiquated, this happens when one retires.
Blessings

[moebees]

Now a bee can create SOME of its required proteins from sugar, nitrogen, sulphur and a few other compuonds similar to mammals creating proteins,  but I do not know how many proteins an insect can create; there are limits.  If memory serves me correctly there or only 23 basic proteins.  I believe the endoplasmic reticulum is the organelle responsible for making proteins,,,,, in microbes at least.


Blessings

There are thousands of different proteins. You are talking about producing amino acids and they really cannot produce them de novo from carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur but by converting other amino acids.  Essential amino acids are those required in the diet because they cannot be produced in the cell.  I don't know which or how many amino acids are essential for bees (a quick interwebs search found that there are 10 essential amino acids for bees).  Apparently DeGroot did the pioneering work on amino acid requirements of bees in the 1950's.  I haven't look for the papers because I'm not really that interested so I don't know the breakdown of larva versus adult bees.   But I believe like most adult animals, adult bees require very little protein nutrition. 

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Thanks Moe, amino acids, I should have stated AMINO ACIDS in stead of proteins.  I believe there are 23, AMINO ACIDS is that correct.

Look up the endoplasmic reticulum, yes humans and microbes can and do build amino acids.  Not all amino acids, there are ESSENTIAL amino acids required by diet, as mammals cannot produce, therefore I ASSUME honey bees are the same.

Maybe I am going into much detail for this forum.  Have fun, enjoy the bees.
Blessings

[BeeMaster2]

Sawdustmaker;  The nurse age bees eat the pollen and process the protein, and then they feed the drones and older worker bees of nectar receiver/forager age the protein from their bodies.  The older bees need protein just as do the younger.

"Protein balance of the honey bee worker," by K. Crailsheim.  Apidologie (1990) 21, 417-429

This is news to me. I read the article. Everything else I have read says that bees mainly survive on honey and mainly use pollen for brood and the queen.
Jim

[moebees]

Van, it depends on the amino acids you are talking about. Usually we are interested in the ones that make up proteins and there are 22 of those.  There are other amino acids that are not found in proteins.

[moebees]

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