On sunny spring afternoons like yesterday's, I love pulling up a chair next to my backyard hive and watching the field force come home, bringing in the first pollen and nectar of the season. I'm told that experienced beekeepers are quite capable of discerning the source of pollen by it's color (in the context of the season). I'm not quite there yet...
Yesterday, there was a drone hanging out on the landing board- I grabbed some photos of the drone next to worker bees for a comparison of size, color, body shape etc. The drone is the big guy with the big dark eyes- almost 1/3rd larger than the workers, to my eye.
Note the worker on the bottom left, bringing in some golden-orange pollen in her 'pollen basket.'
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