Flowering Plants/Trees Back to Honey Plants
This is a valuable honey plant. It grows in all regions of the United States and Canada. It is one of the first major nectar/pollen sources for bees in the spring. Due to the growth of several species in the same region, the blooming period last for several weeks. Most of the nectar/honey/pollen is used for brood rearing. It is widely grown and common. The above picture shows some of the fall color associated with the maple tree. The color of leaves in the fall will vary from yellow to red. It begins to bloom in the south in February and continues to the north and is in bloom in Ohio by early April.
Description of nectar
The honey produced in Ohio (Acer rubrum and saccharum) from the nectar is yellow with a green tint color. I collected some in 1995 and it has a strong flavor. Pellett reports that the honey is amber with a poor flavor. Lovell reports that the honey from Maple in Washington and Oregon (the Oregon maple) produces white or light amber colored with a faint pinkish tinge with a fine flavor.
Description of Pollen
The
pollen is dark brown with a tint of green. If looking at a frame of
brood in the spring, one can find dark pollen (most likely maple) interspersed
with a bright yellow pollen (most likely dandelion).
Description of pollen grain
The pollen grain of all maples is somewhat football shaped. Some of the grains are a bit more blunt on the ends than the example shown to the right. The grains are more accurately described as tricolpate, oblate spheroidal in the equatorial view. The surface of the pollen grain has a number of small ridges visible under 1000X magnification. It has predominate pores.