Progress, problems and future tasks of melissopalynology

Melissopalynology will soon be 100 years old. As far as geographical origin is concerned there are no basic problems. The pollen pattern of a certain region is quite stable. Changes in agriculture, however, like the introduction of Phacelia and sunflower into Western Germany lead to higher frequencies of both species in German honeys. The combination Phacelia/sunflower was considered in former years as typical for honeys from Eastern Europe. We still have insufficient knowledge of the pollen spectra of the regions which do not participate in the world trade with honey, for instance Southeast Asia. Another open field of work is the differentiation between the honeys of adjacent domains eg, Southeastern Austria versus Hungary, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Computer techniques facilitate the handling of the many data accumulated on this kind of work (Perez de Zabalza, 1989; Battesti, 1990; Spitzl, 1990). The determination of botanical origin is confronted with some fundamental problems. The countings are relatively inaccurate. The number of "marking" pollen grains in the nectar depends on the anatomy of the flowers. Size and ornamentation of the pollen grains influences the speed of elimination by the proventriculus mechanism in the honey bee stomach. There is a secondary contamination with pollen collected by the bees as protein food. A tertiary contamination may occur when the honey combs are uncapped and extracted. The grade of tertiary contamination seems to be influenced by the hive type, management and also by the uncapping technique used (fork, knife or uncapping machine). Secondary and tertiary contamination can mask the marking pollen grains. Therefore, determination of botanical origin should also be considered together with the results of the sensory examination

COMMISSION INTERNATIONALE DE BOTANIQUE APICOLE DE L'U.I.S.B. : LES MÉTHODES DE LA MÉLISSO-PALYNOLOGIE

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INTERNATIONALE KOMMISSION FÜR BIENENBOTANIK DER I. U. B. S. METHODIK DER MELISSOPALYNOLOGIE

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