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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, MARCH 2017
Days 3 to 6: Male flowers produce nectar The male flower has no pistil in the centre, as shown in this photo. The glistening dots are nectar bubbles scattered over the surface of the nectar disc. The large yellow dots on the nectar disc are clumps of pale yellow pollen that have fallen onto the nectary. Since the anthers are facing to the inside of the flower the pollen can easily fall onto the nectary. This means mānuka pollen grains are mixed into the nectar and will therefore get into the honey. In addition, pollen is easily dislodged by the movements of bees or other insect visitors as they brush past the anthers.
Clumps of pollen on nectary disk
Photo by Valentine Tournon ©Trees for Bees NZ.
Days 3 to 6: Pollen dislodged by honey bees When a honey bee collects nectar, its body brushes against the anthers and dislodges pollen, which then falls onto the nectar disc. The bee’s body hairs readily pick up pollen as well. We have not yet seen a honey bee actively collecting mānuka pollen and packing it into its baskets, but it could happen if no other better protein source was available. It would be a small load, perhaps because of the extremely small pollen grains and tiny anthers. As the flower matures, the nectar disc becomes covered with more bubbles of nectar, which are the glistening dots in this photo.
Photo by Sascha Koch ©Trees for Bees NZ.
Days 4 to 6: Nectar bubbles merge together During days 4 to 6, more nectar is secreted if the conditions are right. The tiny bubbles enlarge and merge together into larger drops of nectar. Both male and bisexual flowers can produce copious nectar, but this will vary with the mānuka variety and the weather. To see how much nectar can be produced, it is best to cover an entire branch with a fine- mesh bag to exclude the bees from taking the nectar. Follow 10 to 15 tagged, newly opened flowers for 5 to 7 days to see the accumulation of nectar through the life cycle of the flower.
Photo by Valentine Tournon ©Trees for Bees NZ.
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