I moved 3 hives to a 20 acre soybean field one night this week. I hadn't seen any bees in this field but the next morning after the move they were working the blooms good. Hopefully this will help my bees or my beans and maybe both.
I had heard the best way to encourage bees to work a crop is to move them into it after it begins blooming. They are now about a mile from the original site and yes there were a few bees coming back home looking for their hive.
Any opinions on soybeans benefit to bees?
Soybeans in bloom
I was not able to find anything locally on soybeans. The NCSU pamphlet on NC honey plants does not list soy, nor does the honey bee forage species list for Region 11 on the NASA website (adapted from The Hive and the Honey Bee, 1992). The version of American Honey Plants available for free down load from Google does not contain an entry for soybeans either.
You might try a search on the national forum boards with an eye toward discussions of varieties of soybeans and locations where bee activity was reported on soybeans. The American Honey Plant book noted that the same plant may produce nectar in one place and not in another based on soil type and other variables.
You might try a search on the national forum boards with an eye toward discussions of varieties of soybeans and locations where bee activity was reported on soybeans. The American Honey Plant book noted that the same plant may produce nectar in one place and not in another based on soil type and other variables.