Our bees have been carrying in large sacs of yellow and orange pollen. I’m not sure what the source of this pollen is, maybe a combination of many different flowers. Interestingly enough, I haven’t seen our bees on any of the blooms on our property (we’re on 5 acres in Southern Indiana), so they may be going elsewhere to collect. But below are some possible candidates. These are the flowers scattered about our property. Some are wild, some are not. Maybe you can help me identify some of them. I’m not a gardener, though I’m getting more interested now that I have bees.
Here is really nice honey bee forage map that lists when nectar producing plants are blooming in different US regions: http://honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov/Honeybees/Forage.htm
This bloom is on a large Tulip tree that we did not plant. Looks like an oasis for bees to me.
Wild Flowers (I believe the yellow is white mustard):
Wild Flowers (probably Dasy Fleabane):
A bush of some kind:
Honey suckle:
A Wild Bush w/ beautiful blooms:
A flowering bush my father planted:
Clover:
Wild Flowers on a bush:
Check out the bee on the wild flowers below. Not one of ours. I’m not even 100% sure this is a honey bee. Her body was shaped a little differently. You can see she’s carrying a large yellow pollen sac.
A close up of the bee:
An hanging plant:
A potted plant:
Another potted flower:
Your first picture is of an oak leaf hydrangea, the bush with the pink flowers is an azalea bush, the purple flowers in the hanging plant are petunias and the potted plant is a Bougainvillea. Love the pics and hearing about the bees!
Thank you! You need to come see the bees sometime soon.
The white flower bush looks like a Nine Bark and the 2nd photo could be wild golden rod. Will check and get back to you. Beautiful flowers!
Thanks, Karen!