Globe thistle pollen

Echinops ritro

Whitish, pale cream, in the cream / white range.

FloweringJuly to September

PollenFair

NectarGood

SeasonSummer, Autumn

WhereGarden

A steel blue border plant that fairly hums with bees, giving a pale load through late summer.

Globe thistle (Echinops ritro) in flower — Photo: Enrico Blasutto at Italian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. 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.

False acaciaMay to June YewFebruary to April RowanMay to June Winter clematisNovember to February SnowberryJune to September

Confused with in the field

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

HollyMuted pale yellow

Out at about the same time

Bell heatherPale dull lilac grey Creeping thistlePale creamy yellow Field scabiousDark brick orange-red Himalayan balsamGhostly white Ling heatherWhitish cream MarjoramDull tan-brown

Saw a load like this going in?

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

Pollen identifier