Evening primrose pollen

Oenothera biennis

Bright lemon yellow, in the yellow range.

FloweringJune to September

PollenGood

NectarFair

SeasonSummer, Autumn

WhereGarden, Waste and verge

Worked mostly in the early morning, and the loose stringy loads are easy to pick out on returning bees.

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) in flower — Photo: Georg Slickers, 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.

PrivetJune to July Meadow buttercupMay to July Winter aconiteFebruary to March HogweedJune to September HollyMay to June

Confused with in the field

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

PrivetGolden yellow

Out at about the same time

BorageBlue grey BrambleGreenish grey Californian poppyBright orange Common limeYellow to greenish DogwoodPale creamy yellow ElderPale greyish yellow

Saw a load like this going in?

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

Pollen identifier