Skip to main content
. 2016 May 31;7:11629. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11629

Table 2. The identity and percentage of pollen collected by honey bees over a 16-week period.

Plant family % of pollen over 16 weeks
Plant genus/species Common name
  Site 1 Site 2 Site 3    
Fabaceae* 5.97 1.38 0.84 G. max Soybean
  3.98 0.14 Lotus corniculatus Common bird's-foot-trefoil
  6.91 0.59 0.52 Melilotus sp. Sweet clover
  . 0.02 0.82 Trifolium campestre Hop clover
  5.45 0.35 0.54 Trifolium hybridum Alsike clover
  0.04 16.39 14.79 Trifolium pratense Red clover
  2.02 15.84 10.35 Trifolium repens White clover
  4.13 3.46 Trifolium sp. Unknown clover
  8.24 1.18 NA
  0.02 Tufted vetch
Brassicaceae* 12.62 6.12 4.89 Unknown (likely including S. arvensis) Mustards and cabbages
Asteraceae 0.83 8.3 6.8 Ambrosia artemisiifolia Common ragweed
  . 0.02 0.02 Arctium minus Wild rhubarb
  0.5 0.13 1.68 Cichorium intybus Common chicory
  Cirsium sp. Plume thistle
  Helianthus sp. Sunflower
  2.21 1.31 0.88 Solidago sp. Goldenrod
  0.04 0.07 Taraxacum officinale Common dandelion
  0.08 3.19 3.76 Unknown NA
Vitaceae 6.91 8 1.86 Vitis sp. Wild grape
Plantaginaceae 6.66 7.14 10.99 Plantago sp. Fleawort
Euphorbiaceae 0.1 6.6 9.67 Mercurialis sp. Spurges
Rosaceae* 0.02 Crataegus sp. Hawthorn
  Malus sp. Apple
  0.04 Cinquefoils
  0.04 Plum, cherry, peach group
  3 0.2 Chokecherry
  0.06 0.02 0.14 Rubus sp. Blackberry group
  3.48 0.09 . Unknown NA
Adoxaceae 6.49 3.34 6.03 Sambucus sp. Elderberry
Araliaceae 4.92 Aralia sp. Spikenard
Cyperaceae 3.42 0.04 Carex sp. Sedges
Unknown (P7A-50 #4) 0.17 5.96 4.26 Unknown NA
Poaceae* 0.06 2.77 3.87 Zea mays Maize
Umbelliferae* 3.07 1.22 2.27 Unknown Carrot, celery, parsley group
Caprifoliaceae 2.8 0.02 0.02 Lonicera sp. Honeysuckle
  0.04 0.16 Diervilla sp. Bush honeysuckle
Unknown (1-5 apertures) 1.15 0.79 0.73 Unknown NA
Oxalidaceae 0.04 2.56 0.02 Oxalis sp. Wood sorrel
Hypericaceae 1.04 0.22 0.82 Hypericum sp. St. John's wort
Liliaceae 0.54 1.7 0.41 Unknown Lily family
Anacardiaceae 0.13 0.81 2.02 Rhus typhina Staghorn sumac
Ranunculaceae 0.98 Columbine
  0.02 NA
Cornaceae 0.06 0.92 0.73 Cornus stolonifera Red-osier dogwood
Salicaceae 0.02 0.68 0.07 Populus sp. Poplar, aspen, cottonwood
  0.1 1.7 Salix sp. Willow
Rhamnaceae 0.02 0.02 1.5 Rhamnus sp. Buckthorn
Amaranthaceae 0.65 0.35 0.18 Chenopodium sp. Goosefoot
Gramineae 0.38 0.31 Unknown True grasses
Malvaceae 0.31 0.02 Tilia sp. Basswood
Balsaminaceae 0.25 0.15 0.2 Impatiens capensis Common jewelweed
Unknown (P7A-16 #4) 0.08 Unknown NA
Betulaceae 0.35 0.27 Corylus sp. Hazel
Caryophyllaceae 0.31 Unknown Carnation family
Unknown (P7A-29 #6) 0.22 Unknown NA
Unknown (P7A-28 #7) 0.17 Unknown NA
Unknown (P7A-47 #9) 0.09 0.2 Unknown NA
Unknown (P7A-47 #8) 0.2 Unknown NA
Unknown (P7A-41 #14) 0.11 Unknown NA
Nymphaeaceae 0.07 Nuphar sp. Water lily
Polygonaceae 0.05 Rumex sp. Knotweed

Honey bee hives were placed at one of three sites: (1) in a non-agricultural area (n=28 plant families), (2) adjacent to a maize field grown from untreated seeds (n=30 plant families) or (3) adjacent to a maize field grown from pesticide-treated seeds (n=29 plant families). Note: Asterisks denote plant families that do or may include cultivated plant species. Dashes denote that pollen from a particular plant family was not observed in honey bee pollen loads.