Teasel pollen

Dipsacus fullonum

Pale lavender, faintly pinkish, in the blue / purple range.

FloweringJuly to August

PollenGood

NectarGood

SeasonSummer

WhereWaste and verge, Hedgerow, Garden

Worked keenly in high summer, and the pale mauve loads are hard to mistake.

Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) in flower — Photo: AnemoneProjectors (talk), CC BY-SA 2.0. 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.

Viper’s buglossJune to August LupinJune to July Siberian squillMarch to April PhaceliaJune to September Oriental poppyMay to July

Confused with in the field

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

KnapweedVery pale olive cream Field scabiousDark brick orange-red

Out at about the same time

Bell heatherPale dull lilac grey Creeping thistlePale creamy yellow Field scabiousDark brick orange-red Globe thistleWhitish, pale cream Himalayan balsamGhostly white Ling heatherWhitish cream

Saw a load like this going in?

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

Pollen identifier