Beescapes–extracting pollen from historical Danish beeswax to explore honeybee foraging

Tuuli M. Kasso; Annette Bruun Jensen; Samuel Johns; Mélanie Roffet-Salque; Matthew J. Collins; Renée Enevold

doi:10.1080/01916122.2023.2288220

Beescapes–extracting pollen from historical Danish beeswax to explore honeybee foraging

Tuuli M. Kasso^*, Annette Bruun Jensen, Samuel Johns, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, Matthew J. Collins, Renée Enevold

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

Abstract

We extracted pollen from historical honeycomb specimens of beeswax to highlight the potential of beeswax as a source for palynological studies. The pollen composition was explored as a proxy for honeybee foraging in the past. Additionally, we wanted to illuminate the potential of the palynological analysis to provenance the specimens. Danish honeycomb samples from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, dating from the late 19^th, early twentieth century were processed and analysed for pollen identification. We used Ellenberg values to represent functional traits for the identified taxa and applied these as explanatory variables to study the variation in foraging environment and plant preference of the honeybees. Our results indicate variations of an agricultural landscape, with bees foraging on plants that are high in nutritional value. We found that information gained from palynological analysis of museum samples may be useful in illuminating details of historical apiology. We present our study in light of the importance of environmental biodiversity in Denmark and its vitality for bees as key pollinators in our ecosystem.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	2288220
Tidsskrift	Palynology
Vol/bind	48
Nummer	2
ISSN	0191-6122
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1080/01916122.2023.2288220
Status	Udgivet - 2024

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10.1080/01916122.2023.2288220Licens: CC BY

Citationsformater

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title = "Beescapes–extracting pollen from historical Danish beeswax to explore honeybee foraging",

abstract = "We extracted pollen from historical honeycomb specimens of beeswax to highlight the potential of beeswax as a source for palynological studies. The pollen composition was explored as a proxy for honeybee foraging in the past. Additionally, we wanted to illuminate the potential of the palynological analysis to provenance the specimens. Danish honeycomb samples from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, dating from the late 19th, early twentieth century were processed and analysed for pollen identification. We used Ellenberg values to represent functional traits for the identified taxa and applied these as explanatory variables to study the variation in foraging environment and plant preference of the honeybees. Our results indicate variations of an agricultural landscape, with bees foraging on plants that are high in nutritional value. We found that information gained from palynological analysis of museum samples may be useful in illuminating details of historical apiology. We present our study in light of the importance of environmental biodiversity in Denmark and its vitality for bees as key pollinators in our ecosystem.",

keywords = "Beeswax, biodiversity, foraging, historical period, honeybees, landscape history, preparation protocol",

author = "Kasso, {Tuuli M.} and {Bruun Jensen}, Annette and Samuel Johns and M{\'e}lanie Roffet-Salque and Collins, {Matthew J.} and Ren{\'e}e Enevold",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",

year = "2024",

doi = "10.1080/01916122.2023.2288220",

language = "English",

volume = "48",

journal = "Palynology",

issn = "0191-6122",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Beescapes–extracting pollen from historical Danish beeswax to explore honeybee foraging

AU - Kasso, Tuuli M.

AU - Bruun Jensen, Annette

AU - Johns, Samuel

AU - Roffet-Salque, Mélanie

AU - Collins, Matthew J.

AU - Enevold, Renée

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - We extracted pollen from historical honeycomb specimens of beeswax to highlight the potential of beeswax as a source for palynological studies. The pollen composition was explored as a proxy for honeybee foraging in the past. Additionally, we wanted to illuminate the potential of the palynological analysis to provenance the specimens. Danish honeycomb samples from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, dating from the late 19th, early twentieth century were processed and analysed for pollen identification. We used Ellenberg values to represent functional traits for the identified taxa and applied these as explanatory variables to study the variation in foraging environment and plant preference of the honeybees. Our results indicate variations of an agricultural landscape, with bees foraging on plants that are high in nutritional value. We found that information gained from palynological analysis of museum samples may be useful in illuminating details of historical apiology. We present our study in light of the importance of environmental biodiversity in Denmark and its vitality for bees as key pollinators in our ecosystem.

AB - We extracted pollen from historical honeycomb specimens of beeswax to highlight the potential of beeswax as a source for palynological studies. The pollen composition was explored as a proxy for honeybee foraging in the past. Additionally, we wanted to illuminate the potential of the palynological analysis to provenance the specimens. Danish honeycomb samples from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, dating from the late 19th, early twentieth century were processed and analysed for pollen identification. We used Ellenberg values to represent functional traits for the identified taxa and applied these as explanatory variables to study the variation in foraging environment and plant preference of the honeybees. Our results indicate variations of an agricultural landscape, with bees foraging on plants that are high in nutritional value. We found that information gained from palynological analysis of museum samples may be useful in illuminating details of historical apiology. We present our study in light of the importance of environmental biodiversity in Denmark and its vitality for bees as key pollinators in our ecosystem.

KW - Beeswax

KW - biodiversity

KW - foraging

KW - historical period

KW - honeybees

KW - landscape history

KW - preparation protocol

U2 - 10.1080/01916122.2023.2288220

DO - 10.1080/01916122.2023.2288220

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85179934005

SN - 0191-6122

VL - 48

JO - Palynology

JF - Palynology

IS - 2

M1 - 2288220

ER -

Beescapes–extracting pollen from historical Danish beeswax to explore honeybee foraging

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