Pollen

Is a fine to coarse powder consisting  of male vegetative and generative plant cells, which are collected, accumulated as food reserve and consumed by bees. Bees gather pollen from various wild and cultured plants. Pollen grain form and colour are different depending on origin of plant. For example, white clover pollen particle is round and brown, lime and raspberry pollen - triangle and white, while phacelia pollen - round and violet.
Bees collect pollen very intensively in spring, in time of the most intense blossoming. Flying from one blossom to another, bees wet pollen with nectar and saliva and then form it to small sphere, place it into small baskets on the back legs and carries to the hive. Within single flight a bee gathers each time 20 mg of pollen. A strong bee colony can gather per day up to ÷ 100-150 g, and in the summer can gather - 25-30 kg and completely satisfy own demands. Part of pollen may be taken from bees using special gathering devices. From one average strong bee colony once on a beautiful spring day beekeeper can take 70 to 100 g of pollen. Bees then feel that pollen is carried to the hive too slowly and gather it more intensely and can easily increase annual norm to 40÷50 kg.

Pollen just gathered has up to15÷20 % moisture content, and require drying. Dried pollen is packed up and supplied to the consumers.
Bees upon their return to the hive with pollen loads put pollen into comb cells and compact it. Having two thirds of a comb cell full they fill up remaining part with honey and close cells sticking with wax caps. The pollen reserve so prepared for future is called bee bread.