Cotoneaster pollen

Cotoneaster horizontalis

Dull pale cream, in the cream / white range.

FloweringMay to June

PollenMinor

NectarVery good

SeasonSpring, Summer

WhereGarden, Hedgerow, Waste and verge

A summer favourite that fairly hums with bees, though they come chiefly for the nectar.

Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis) in flower — Photo: Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons

Easy to mistake for these

Closest pollen colours in our set, measured the same way the pollen identifier scores a match. Colour alone will not settle it, so check the flowering months and what is actually growing near your hives.

RosemaryMarch to May SnowberryJune to September YewFebruary to April Globe thistleJuly to September Flowering currantApril to May

Confused with in the field

Noted by name in our own records, rather than worked out from the colour.

HawthornYellow brown

Out at about the same time

ComfreyDull pale yellow False acaciaPale creamy white HawthornYellow brown HollyMuted pale yellow Horse chestnutBrick to rusty red LaburnumBrick orange

Saw a load like this going in?

Sample the colour against all 89 plants, then keep a forage record per hive.

Pollen identifier