Q: I am interested in matching pollen granules that my honeybees collect with the plant of origin.

A: The best help I can find is from a professor at Texas A&M University in Austin. Although Austin is a bit warmer than Atlanta, I think flowering plants there are about the same as here.

Here’s what he says:

Pollen extraction and analysis of pollen from honey is $50/sample.

This includes extraction of pollen from honey, pollen concentration values, a CD of photographs of key pollen types found in the sample, and a complete analysis of the recovered pollen data including probable geographical region where the honey was produced and a list of the primary nectar sources. We generally examine 200-400 pollen grains per sample. When appropriate, we will provide verification documents for export, and interpretations based on pollen coefficient values for the primary taxa present. We generally use 10 grams of honey from each sample but prefer to have additional honey available should we need to reprocess a sample. Therefore, we suggest sending approximately 30-50 grams of honey per sample.

Send sample to:
Vaughn M. Bryant, Professor of Anthropology
Director, Palynology Laboratory
Department of Anthropology
Texas A&M University (TAMU 4352)
College Station, TX 77843-4352

Pollen Analysis Website