Honey Bees: Preference for and Nutritive Value of Pollen from Five Plant Sources123

Abstract
Caged colonies of Apis mellifera L. fed diets of bee-gathered pollen from each of 5 plant sources were able to rear brood for as long as 45 days. The number of bees reared depended more on the amount of food consumed (preference) than on the nutritive value (number of bees reared per gram of pollen consumed).