If you've ever watched a honeybee returning to its hive with brightly coloured bundles on its back legs, you've probably already seen bee pollen.
Those little bundles are pollen pellets collected from flowers — and they're the starting point of the bee pollen we eat.
So how does pollen get from a flower into a bag of bee pollen?
What Is Pollen?
Pollen is produced by flowering plants as part of their reproductive cycle.
Each pollen grain is incredibly small, but when honeybees visit flowers thousands of grains can collect on the fine hairs covering their bodies.
The bees aren't simply getting covered in pollen by accident. They actively collect it as an important food source for the colony.
How Do Bees Collect Pollen?
As a worker bee moves between flowers, she gathers pollen from her body and combines it into small pellets.
These pellets are carried back to the hive in specialised structures on the bee's hind legs commonly called pollen baskets.
If you've ever seen a bee flying around with two yellow or orange lumps on its back legs, that's what you're looking at.
Different flowers naturally produce different pollen, which means the botanical source can influence the colour, flavour and nutritional composition of the finished bee pollen.
How Do Beekeepers Collect Bee Pollen?
When bees return to the hive, beekeepers can collect a portion of the pollen they're carrying using specialised pollen-collecting equipment.
Importantly, the goal isn't to strip every bit of pollen from the bees.
Pollen is an important food resource for the colony, so good beekeeping management always comes first.
Once collected, pollen intended for people needs to be properly handled, cleaned and processed before becoming the finished food you buy.
Why Does Bee Pollen Contain So Many Nutrients?
Plants produce pollen to perform an important biological job, and pollen naturally contains a complex mixture of nutrients and plant compounds.
Research into bee pollen has identified proteins and amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals and naturally occurring plant compounds including phenolic compounds and flavonoids.
Exactly what's present — and in what amounts — varies according to botanical source, location, season and growing conditions.
For a closer look at the nutritional side, read Bee Pollen Benefits: What Does It Actually Contain?
From the Hive to the Finished Bag
Collecting pollen is only the beginning.
Once harvested, pollen needs to be cleaned and screened to remove unwanted material and appropriately processed and stored to protect the quality of the finished food.
At Dinkum Honey, our pollen is carefully processed to preserve the natural goodness of the pollen.
You can learn more about this in How to Choose Good Quality Bee Pollen: What Actually Matters?
Where Does Dinkum Honey Bee Pollen Come From?
Dinkum Honey is a family-owned beekeeping business in Western Australia.
Our bee pollen comes directly from our own beekeeping operation and is predominantly collected from Western Australian eucalyptus flora.
That gives us something we think matters enormously when it comes to food: traceability.
We know where our pollen came from because we're the beekeepers behind it.
Want to Try Bee Pollen?
Bee pollen can be eaten straight or easily added to foods such as yoghurt, smoothies, cereal, fruit and honey.
If you'd like some ideas, read How to Eat Bee Pollen: Simple Ways to Add It to Your Diet.
You can also read our Complete Guide to Bee Pollen for the full story.
Or, if you're ready to try it yourself, shop Dinkum Honey Bee Pollen here.
Important: Bee pollen can cause severe allergic reactions.