Editing Pollen (section)

==Nutrition==
Most major classes of [[predatory]] and [[parasitic]] [[arthropod]]s contain species that eat pollen, despite the common perception that [[bee]]s are the primary pollen-consuming arthropod group. Many [[Hymenoptera]] other than bees consume pollen as adults, though only a small number feed on pollen as [[larva]]e (including some [[ant]] larvae). [[Spider]]s are normally considered [[carnivore]]s but pollen is an important source of food for several species, particularly for [[spider]]lings, which catch pollen on their [[spider web|webs]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Eggs |first1=Benjamin |last2=Sanders |first2=Dirk |date=2013-11-29 |title=Herbivory in Spiders: The Importance of Pollen for Orb-Weavers |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=8 |issue=11 |pages=e82637 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0082637 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3843719 |pmid=24312430|bibcode=2013PLoSO...882637E }}</ref> Some [[Acari|predatory mites]] also feed on pollen, with some species being able to subsist solely on pollen, such as ''[[Euseius tularensis]]'', which feeds on the pollen of dozens of plant species. Members of some beetle families such as [[Mordellidae]] and [[Melyridae]] feed almost exclusively on pollen as adults, while various lineages within larger families such as [[Curculionidae]], [[Chrysomelidae]], [[Cerambycidae]], and [[Scarabaeidae]] are pollen specialists even though most members of their families are not (e.g., only 36 of 40,000 species of [[Carabidae|ground beetle]]s, which are typically predatory, have been shown to eat pollen—but this is thought to be a severe underestimate as the feeding habits are only known for 1,000 species). Similarly, [[Ladybird]] beetles mainly eat insects, but many species also eat pollen, as either part or all of their diet. [[Hemiptera]] are mostly [[herbivore]]s or [[omnivore]]s but pollen feeding is known (and has only been well studied in the [[Anthocoridae]]). Many adult flies, especially [[Syrphidae]], feed on pollen, and three UK syrphid species feed strictly on pollen (syrphids, like all [[Fly|flies]], cannot eat pollen directly due to the structure of their mouthparts, but can consume pollen contents that are dissolved in a fluid).<ref>{{Cite book| chapter=The Pollen Feeders| title=Relationships of Natural Enemies and Non-Prey Foods| volume=7| pages=87–116| year=2009| isbn=978-1-4020-9234-3| doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-9235-0_6| last1=Lundgren| first1=Jonathan G.}}</ref> Some species of fungus, including ''[[Fomes fomentarius]]'', are able to break down grains of pollen as a secondary nutrition source that is particularly high in nitrogen.<ref>{{cite book |title= Fungal Strategies of Wood Decay in Trees|author1=Schwarze, Francis W. M. R. |author2=Engels, Julia |author3=Mattheck, Claus |name-list-style=amp |year= 2000|publisher= [[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]|isbn= 978-3-540-67205-0|page= 61}}</ref> Pollen may be valuable diet supplement for [[detritivore]]s, providing them with nutrients needed for growth, development and maturation.<ref name="Filipiak-2016">{{cite journal |last1=Filipiak |first1=Michał |title=Pollen Stoichiometry May Influence Detrital Terrestrial and Aquatic Food Webs |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |date=15 December 2016 |volume=4 |page=138 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2016.00138 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2016FrEEv...4..138F }}</ref> It was suggested that obtaining nutrients from pollen, deposited on the forest floor during periods of pollen rains, allows fungi to decompose nutritionally scarce litter.<ref name="Filipiak-2016" />

Some species of ''[[Heliconius]]'' butterflies consume pollen as adults, which appears to be a valuable nutrient source, and these species are more distasteful to predators than the non-pollen consuming species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Salcedo |first1=C. |title=Evidence of pollen digestion at nocturnal aggregations of ''Heliconius sara'' in Costa Rica (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) |journal=Tropical Lepidoptera Research |date=1 June 2010 |pages=35–37 |url=https://journals.flvc.org/troplep/article/view/90278}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Cardoso MZ, Gilbert LE |title=Pollen feeding, resource allocation and the evolution of chemical defence in passion vine butterflies |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=1254–60 |date=June 2013 |pmid=23662837 |doi=10.1111/jeb.12119 |s2cid=206046558 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Although [[bat]]s, [[butterfly|butterflies]], and [[hummingbird]]s are not pollen eaters ''per se'', their consumption of [[nectar]] in flowers is an important aspect of the [[pollination]] process.

===In humans===
[[Bee pollen]] for human consumption is marketed as a [[food]] ingredient and as a [[dietary supplement]]. The largest constituent is [[carbohydrate]]s, with protein content ranging from 7 to 35 percent depending on the plant species collected by bees.<ref>Sanford, Malcolm T. {{cite web |url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |title=Producing Pollen |date=17 May 2006 |access-date=2015-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113100544/http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |archive-date=January 13, 2007}}, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences; citing P. Witherell, "Other Products of the Hive," Chapter XVIII, ''The Hive and the Honey Bee'', Dadant & Sons, Inc., Hamilton, IL, 1975.</ref>

[[Honey]] produced by bees from natural sources contains pollen derived [[p-coumaric acid]],<ref name=Berenbaum>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mao W, Schuler MA, Berenbaum MR |title=Honey constituents up-regulate detoxification and immunity genes in the western honey bee Apis mellifera |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=110 |issue=22 |pages=8842–6 |date=May 2013 |pmid=23630255 |pmc=3670375 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1303884110 |bibcode=2013PNAS..110.8842M |doi-access=free}}</ref> an [[antioxidant]] and natural [[bactericide]] that is also present in a wide variety of plants and plant-derived food products.<ref name=Xaixiang>{{cite journal |first1=Zaixiang |last1=Lou|first2=Hongxin |last2=Wang |first3=Shengqi |last3=Rao |first4=Juntao |last4=Sun |first5=Chaoyang |last5=Ma |first6=Jing |last6=Li |journal=Food Control|volume=25 |issue=2 |date=2012|pages=550–554 |title=''p''-Coumaric acid kills bacteria through dual damage mechanisms |doi=10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.11.022}}</ref>

The [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) has not found any harmful effects of bee pollen consumption, except for the usual allergies. However, FDA does not allow bee pollen marketers in the United States to make health claims about their produce, as no scientific basis for these has ever been proven. Furthermore, there are possible dangers not only from allergic reactions but also from contaminants such as pesticides<ref name="Tosi-2018" /> and from fungi and bacteria growth related to poor storage procedures. A manufacturers's claim that pollen collecting helps the bee colonies is also controversial.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |access-date=2007-08-30 |title=Producing Pollen |last=Sanford |first=Malcolm T. |publisher=University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010429230017/http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA158 |archive-date=2001-04-29}} Document ENY118. Original publication date November 1, 1994. Revised February 1, 1995. Reviewed May 1, 2003.</ref>

Pine pollen ({{Korean|hangul=송화가루|rr=Songhwa Garu|labels=no}}) is traditionally consumed in Korea as an ingredient in sweets and beverages.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://aarongilbreath.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/ginseng-pine-pollen-and-honey-five-korean-teas-and-where-to-drink-them-in-seoul/|title=Source|newspaper=Aarongilbreath's Blog|date=2013-05-31}}</ref> [[Māori people|Māori]] of precolonial New Zealand would gather pollen of ''[[Typha orientalis]]'' to make a special bread called ''pungapunga''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neill |first1=Lindsay |last2=Sturny |first2=Arno |title=Pāraoa Rēwena: The Relegation of Aotearoa New Zealand's Indigenous Bread |journal=Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies |date=Aug 2022 |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=65 |doi=10.11157/sites-id505}}</ref>

===Parasites===
The growing industries in pollen harvesting for human and bee consumption rely on harvesting pollen baskets from honey bees as they return to their hives using a ''pollen trap''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBP9pw2rNk4 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211104/JBP9pw2rNk4| archive-date=2021-11-04 | url-status=live| title=How a Pollen Trap Works (Bee Pollen)| website=[[YouTube]]| date=30 April 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> When this pollen has been tested for parasites, it has been found that a multitude of viruses and eukaryotic parasites are present in the pollen.<ref name=Graystock2013>{{cite journal |last1=Graystock |first1=Peter |last2=Yates |first2=Kathryn |last3=Evison |first3=Sophie E. F. |last4=Darvill |first4=Ben |last5=Goulson |first5=Dave |last6=Hughes |first6=William O. H. |s2cid=3937352 |title=The Trojan hives: pollinator pathogens, imported and distributed in bumblebee colonies |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |date=July 2013 |volume=50 |issue=5 |pages=1207–1215 |doi=10.1111/1365-2664.12134|bibcode=2013JApEc..50.1207G }}</ref><ref name=Singh2010>{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Rajwinder |last2=Levitt |first2=Abby L. |last3=Rajotte |first3=Edwin G. |last4=Holmes |first4=Edward C. |last5=Ostiguy |first5=Nancy |last6=vanEngelsdorp |first6=Dennis |last7=Lipkin |first7=W. Ian |last8=dePamphilis |first8=Claude W. |last9=Toth |first9=Amy L. |last10=Cox-Foster |first10=Diana L. |last11=Traveset |first11=Anna |title=RNA Viruses in Hymenopteran Pollinators: Evidence of Inter-Taxa Virus Transmission via Pollen and Potential Impact on Non-Apis Hymenopteran Species |journal=PLOS ONE |date=22 December 2010 |volume=5 |issue=12 |pages=e14357 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0014357 |pmid=21203504 |pmc=3008715|bibcode=2010PLoSO...514357S|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is currently unclear if the parasites are introduced by the bee that collected the pollen or if it is from the flower.<ref name="Singh2010" /><ref name=ParaBloom>{{cite journal |last1=Graystock |first1=Peter |last2=Goulson |first2=Dave |last3=Hughes |first3=William O. H. |title=Parasites in bloom: flowers aid dispersal and transmission of pollinator parasites within and between bee species |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=5 August 2015 |volume=282 |issue=1813 |pages=20151371 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.1371 |pmid=26246556 |pmc=4632632}}</ref> Though this is not likely to pose a risk to humans, it is a major issue for the bumblebee rearing industry that relies on thousands of tonnes of honey bee collected pollen per year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Graystock |first1=Peter |last2=Blane |first2=Edward J. |last3=McFrederick |first3=Quinn S. |last4=Goulson |first4=Dave |last5=Hughes |first5=William O.H. |title=Do managed bees drive parasite spread and emergence in wild bees? |journal=International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=64–75 |date=October 2015 |doi=10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.10.001 |pmid=28560161 |pmc=5439461}}</ref> Several sterilization methods have been employed, though no method has been 100% effective at sterilisation without reducing the nutritional value of the pollen <ref name=steralization>{{cite journal |last1=Graystock |first1=P. |last2=Jones |first2=J.C. |last3=Pamminger |first3=T. |last4=Parkinson |first4=J.F. |last5=Norman |first5=V. |last6=Blane |first6=E.J. |last7=Rothstein |first7=L. |last8=Wäckers |first8=F.|last9=Goulson |first9=D. |last10=Hughes |first10=W.O.H. |title=Hygienic food to reduce pathogen risk to bumblebees |journal=Journal of Invertebrate Pathology |date=May 2016 |volume=136 |pages=68–73 |doi=10.1016/j.jip.2016.03.007 |pmid=26970260|bibcode=2016JInvP.136...68G }}</ref>