Update on Vinnie Van Gogh II, Slurping, Honeybees and Pollen

I had a hard time getting my behind in gear yesterday. Consequently, I didn't get much done in the orchards. I got eight apple trees grafted: Four Melrose and one each Fuji, Kerr, Northern Spy, a promising seedling. I also grafted two pears to Kieffer and planted five raspberry plants.

Mrs ERJ dragged brush while I was grafting, so overall, the trip was productive even though we were not out there very long.

Vinnie Van Gogh II

Vinnie is back in the garage and Mrs ERJ is happy.

The mechanic replaced the leaking ATF cooler lines and he added two quarts of fluid.

Training grandkids

Yesterday I taught Quicksilver how to "slurp". Slurping is a useful skill for drinking hot coffee and for aerating red wines. Yes, Virginia, posh wine tasters "slurp" their red wine.

It is up to us oldsters to teach these important life-skills to the young ones. 

Bees and pollen

A long academic paper on the nutritional characteristics of various plant pollen. 

The role of various amino acids in the metabolism of honey bees.

Amino Acids	Role in the Honey Bee Metabolism	Literature
Tryptophan	A precursor of serotonin, a neuromodulator and a hormone whose level in the brain increases with age	[85]
Methionine	The major substitute and active methyl donor for DNA methylation, which is an epigenetic driver of caste differentiation	[89]
Arginine	A substrate used by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase to produce NO, participates in the immune response during injury	[38]
Leucine	Affects many TOR signaling pathways and genes; in insects, as in other animals, it may be associated with the activity of many enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatine kinase (CK)	[90]
Phenylalanine	Has a strong phagostimulatory effect	[91]
Tyrosine	Participates in in the formation of sclerotin, the matrix in which chitin fibers are embedded	[91]
Histidine	A precursor to histamine	[92]
Cysteine	A limited resource in most insects and is necessary for the production of glutathione; an antioxidant that neutralizes the oxygen forms produced as a result of the reaction and supports immune functions	[93]
Proline	Takes part in physiological changes in temperature, preventing overcooling; proline increases cold tolerance; participates in energy metabolism during flight (energy boost for flight); increases the survival rate and weight of brood larvae	[87,94,95]
Glutamic acid	An important neurotransmitter regulating the processes of learning and memory	[95,96]
Lysine	This amino acid is directly involved in the synthesis of nitric oxide, a known neurotransmitter affecting memory	[85]

and a list of some common "pollinator friendly" plants

Comparison of total protein content and amino acid composition in pollen (based on Google Scholar and Scopus).

Taxon	Total Protein Content [%]	Dominant Amino Acid Composition	Literature
Brassica napus	from 22 to 27	Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid, Lysine, Leucine	[22,23,24,25,26]
Phacelia tanacetifolia	27.44	Glutamic acid, Proline, Aspartic acid, Leucine, Lysine, Valine	[27]
Solidago gigantea; Solidago canadensis	>20	No literature data available	[28]
Fagopyrum	11.4	Glutamic acid, Proline, Aspartic acid, Leucine, Tryptophan, Lysine, Valine, Alanine, Arginine	[22,25]
Medicago sativa	20.23	Valine, Leucine, Izoleucine Phenylalanine, Proline	[24]
Phoenix dactylifera	19.77	Methionine, Histidine, Glycine, Alanine	[24]
Vicia faba	from 22 to 24	Proline, Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid, Arginine, Leucine, Tryptophan	[29,30]
Helianthus annus	15.19	Leucine, Valine, Lysine, Histidine, Aspartic acid, Arginine, Tryptophan, Glutamic acid	[24,25,29]
Zea mays	14.9	Proline, Aspartic acid, Lysine, Alanine, Arginine, Tryptophan	[22,26]
Eucalyptus bridgesiana:	23.1	Proline, Glutamic acid, Aspartic acid, Leucine	[22]
Echium plantagineum	37.4	Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid, Leucine, Lysine	[22]
Salix discolour	21.9	Glutamic acid, Aspartic acid, Leucine, Lysine	[22]
Castanea sativa	21.6	Proline, Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid	[31,32]
Rubus sp.	22	Leucine, Lysine, Valine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Izoleucine	[31,33]
Sinapis	No literature data available	Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid, Proline, Lysine	[34]
Acacia sp.	21.8	Aspartic acid, Glutamic, Glycine	[35]
Calluna vulgaris	17	Glutamic, Aspartic acid, Glycine	[36]

None of them are listed as having a lot of Cysteine. Pussy Willow (Salix discolor) was notable for providing pollen VERY early in the bee season. Clover was mentioned in the text as being "particularly high in amino acids" but does not appear in the table.

There are a number of tested supplements based on soy protein, skimmed milk powder, egg yolk powder, casein or fish meal, the ingredients of which were tested on Apis mellifera L. colonies [9,111,112]. They stimulate the development of the brood, determine the development of the hypopharyngeal glands (HPG), and all this translates into honey production in the colonies. There are also yeast–gluten mixtures available on the market with the addition of vitamins, amino acids, pollen, etc. It has been reported that the mixtures are perfect for periods of malnutrition and have a positive effect on colony parameters [9,113,114]. Bees fed with pollen, fishmeal and sugar were compared. Sugar had no effect, fishmeal worked satisfactorily, and pollen was the best in terms of bee colony development rate [9].

Note: Both fishmeal and egg yolk powder are rich in cysteine. 

The primary conclusion of the article is that healthy bee colonies need pollen from multiple plant species to provide them with a healthy, balanced diet.