Honeybees
- Thread starter delpero
- Start date
my question was poorly phrased i believe. Can bees pollinating marijuana, ( which I understand is not likley) if in a controlled envirement with plants, produce honey with a thc contents. I have read the nectar/ resin stuff and where thc comes from, I did however see an old posting from this thread regarding some research that was being done ( about 2006) ans I was wondering about those results
asdf1
Active Member
Bees producing honey has nothing to do with bees pollinating flowers.
Bees cross pollinate flowers by travleing from flower to flower, keep in mind this mostly occurs on plants that have both pollen and pistils in one flower.
Im not sure if bees can get nectar from cannabis flowers, would they need male flowers or female flowers.
And if they ingest nectar do they ingest thc that would get put into honey?
I doubt it.
Bees cross pollinate flowers by travleing from flower to flower, keep in mind this mostly occurs on plants that have both pollen and pistils in one flower.
Im not sure if bees can get nectar from cannabis flowers, would they need male flowers or female flowers.
And if they ingest nectar do they ingest thc that would get put into honey?
I doubt it.
Fruitbat
Active Member
Being a beekeeper I'll chime in. Short answer is no. Weed just doesn't fit the bill.
Honey bees are after high sugar plant nectars. They land on the flower and lap up very small quantities of nectar and store it in their honey sacs. When they go back to the hive another bee greats them and the flyer passes the honey to the house bee via their mouths (for lack of a better word). That house bee then finds an empty clean cell and deposits the nectar that has now been chemically changed from a simple sugar to a complex sugar due to organic chems contained in the honey bees gut. The house bees monitor the water content of the nectar, when it reaches a certain percentage (around 80% of the h2o is gone) they seal the cell over and bingo...you have honey. Bees require lots of sugars, ie, carbohydrates to function.
Now...honey bees do collect pollen. The hairs on their bodies are negatively charged and the pollen sticks to them like dirt to a Swifter. They use their legs to brush it off and gather it on their hind legs. Specially formed hairs collect the pollen in tiny cakes. They take this back to the hive and stuff it into empty cells after mixing it with bee spit. This is called "Bee Bread" and is their primary source of protein.
Here is what we know. Only male weed plants make pollen. A honey bee could conceivably grab pollen from a male plant and from that make bee bread. Will there be THC in it. No.
A female plant doesn't produce nectar. It produces sticky resin with is a really good defense against insects. It is highly unlikely they will go try to collect nectar off a plant that doesn't produce any nectar and potentially poses a risk to them. Remember honey bees have been around for 10 million years +/-. Honey bees ain't no dummies.
I'm not saying that a honey bee couldn't or wouldn't pollinate a female plant. What I am saying is THC honey ain't gonna happen. In a controlled environment you will just end up with hungry and bummed out honey bees.
Honey bees do collect resin from plants and trees. This is called "propolis". It's super sticky when warm and brittle when cold. They use it like spackle to seal up holes, cracks and to entomb invaders (mice, other bugs, etc). Propolis is antiseptic and antibiotic so it also keeps out nasty bio threats. It is conceivable that they MIGHT collect resin from a female plant but not in any useable quantity.
Forcing honey bees to feed off of mono-crops is not good for them. It would be like forcing you to eat just one kind of food only. They require varied forage to be healthy and we require honey bees for our survival. So...in short...don't mess with honey bees. Respect them.
Here is a fun thing to do. Go buy a few different local honeys (don't buy Sue Bee or big crap brands like that). Smoke a doob. Then taste the different honeys like you are tasting wine. Really. Taste. The. Honey. It'll blow your mind. Now you've fulfilled your desire for THC & honey.
Honey bees are after high sugar plant nectars. They land on the flower and lap up very small quantities of nectar and store it in their honey sacs. When they go back to the hive another bee greats them and the flyer passes the honey to the house bee via their mouths (for lack of a better word). That house bee then finds an empty clean cell and deposits the nectar that has now been chemically changed from a simple sugar to a complex sugar due to organic chems contained in the honey bees gut. The house bees monitor the water content of the nectar, when it reaches a certain percentage (around 80% of the h2o is gone) they seal the cell over and bingo...you have honey. Bees require lots of sugars, ie, carbohydrates to function.
Now...honey bees do collect pollen. The hairs on their bodies are negatively charged and the pollen sticks to them like dirt to a Swifter. They use their legs to brush it off and gather it on their hind legs. Specially formed hairs collect the pollen in tiny cakes. They take this back to the hive and stuff it into empty cells after mixing it with bee spit. This is called "Bee Bread" and is their primary source of protein.
Here is what we know. Only male weed plants make pollen. A honey bee could conceivably grab pollen from a male plant and from that make bee bread. Will there be THC in it. No.
A female plant doesn't produce nectar. It produces sticky resin with is a really good defense against insects. It is highly unlikely they will go try to collect nectar off a plant that doesn't produce any nectar and potentially poses a risk to them. Remember honey bees have been around for 10 million years +/-. Honey bees ain't no dummies.
I'm not saying that a honey bee couldn't or wouldn't pollinate a female plant. What I am saying is THC honey ain't gonna happen. In a controlled environment you will just end up with hungry and bummed out honey bees.
Honey bees do collect resin from plants and trees. This is called "propolis". It's super sticky when warm and brittle when cold. They use it like spackle to seal up holes, cracks and to entomb invaders (mice, other bugs, etc). Propolis is antiseptic and antibiotic so it also keeps out nasty bio threats. It is conceivable that they MIGHT collect resin from a female plant but not in any useable quantity.
Forcing honey bees to feed off of mono-crops is not good for them. It would be like forcing you to eat just one kind of food only. They require varied forage to be healthy and we require honey bees for our survival. So...in short...don't mess with honey bees. Respect them.
Here is a fun thing to do. Go buy a few different local honeys (don't buy Sue Bee or big crap brands like that). Smoke a doob. Then taste the different honeys like you are tasting wine. Really. Taste. The. Honey. It'll blow your mind. Now you've fulfilled your desire for THC & honey.
TaoWolf
Active Member
Damn, you are a man that knows his bees. Thanks for taking the time to type all that and share that info. Didn't expect to get an education when opening this thread. lol
+rep
Fruitbat
Active Member
Thanks.
I'm by no means an expert but I know a little bit about Apis Mellifera.
It's something I'm pretty passionate about. Honey bees are insanely fascinating critters. The more I learn about them the more I am blown away by them. I love to just sit and watch them do their thing.
Beekeeping is a great hobby. If anyone ever wants to get started I'll be glad to help...via PMs (gotta stay on topic here).
Dig it.
I'm by no means an expert but I know a little bit about Apis Mellifera.
It's something I'm pretty passionate about. Honey bees are insanely fascinating critters. The more I learn about them the more I am blown away by them. I love to just sit and watch them do their thing.
Beekeeping is a great hobby. If anyone ever wants to get started I'll be glad to help...via PMs (gotta stay on topic here).
Dig it.
bradleycrispi420
Member
Ok I live in a place with alot of bees and in the process of trying to keep them away from my female mmj plant because im in fear that they will polinate my plant and cause her to grow seeds can this happen and also off topic but some one told me to cut the main single leaf branch off and the colla branches will bush out and do better is this true
potpimp
Sector 5 Moderator
Yeah, and honeybees too!
Fruitbat
Active Member
They aren't interested in your weed. I mean there is a very,very, very slight chance one could have some male pollen on her but 99.9% chance she doesn't. Short answer, don't sweat it.
Bees are good you want them around.
As for topping, read the Uncle Ben's Topping Technique thread.
Bees are good you want them around.
As for topping, read the Uncle Ben's Topping Technique thread.
Fruitbat
Active Member
ONLY if she is carrying male pollen and the chances are extremely thin nor will bees make your weed hermie. Please go back and read this thread. Bees don't give fuck about weed. It's wind pollinated just like grapes.
I'm a professional beekeeper and I grow weed so you know, I do know what I'm talking about as far as this subject goes.
Nutes and Nugs
Well-Known Member
I'd be more worried about the wind that could travel hundreds of miles with male pollen.
Great info FruitBat.
maximkoonn
Member
Не согласен, не нравится пост, как то не в тему
HeartlandHank
Well-Known Member
Yeah, fruitbat, I know it is 2.5 yrs old, but excellent read on page 1 there.
I've got a small pond that brings bees to the property. I'm not sure if they are honeybees, but they are pleasant to have around.
Honestly, before they came around (pond installed) I was always a little sketched by bees. If I saw one, I wouldn't freak out but I would definitely be on edge. After hanging out there often though I can just sit around with them buzzing around and grabbing a drink of water from the pond... they are pleasant and not aggressive. I'm happy to provide a watering hole for them through the summer.
I've got a small pond that brings bees to the property. I'm not sure if they are honeybees, but they are pleasant to have around.
Honestly, before they came around (pond installed) I was always a little sketched by bees. If I saw one, I wouldn't freak out but I would definitely be on edge. After hanging out there often though I can just sit around with them buzzing around and grabbing a drink of water from the pond... they are pleasant and not aggressive. I'm happy to provide a watering hole for them through the summer.