Editing Bee pollen (section)

{{short description|Ball of pollen gathered by worker honeybees}}
[[File:Apis mellifera - Melilotus albus - Keila.jpg|thumb|Honeybee with [[pollen basket]]s]]
[[File:Grille à Pollen et abeilles 05.JPG|thumb|A pollen trap]]
[[File:Bee Pollen IMG 8873.jpg|thumb|Fresh bee pollen]]
[[File:Corbiculette congelate.JPG|thumb|Frozen bee pollen, a human food supplement]]
[[File:Pollen in Wabe 31b.jpg|thumb|Bee bread: the bee pollen stored in the [[Brood (honey bee)|combs]]]]
[[File:BallOfPollenPelottesmacroFLamiot.jpg|thumb|220px|Chunks of bee bread]]
'''Bee pollen''', also known as '''bee bread''' and '''ambrosia''',<ref>''Oxford Canadian Dictionary''</ref> is a ball or pellet of field-gathered [[Pollen|flower pollen]] packed by worker [[honeybee]]s, and used as the primary food source for the hive. It consists of [[simple sugars]], [[protein]], [[Mineral (nutrient)|minerals]] and [[vitamin]]s, [[fatty acid]]s, and a small percentage of other components. Bee pollen is stored in [[brood comb|brood cells]], mixed with saliva, and sealed with a drop of [[honey]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gilliam|first=Martha|date=1979|title=Microbiology of pollen and bee bread: the yeasts.|journal=Apidologie|volume=10|pages=45–53|doi=10.1051/apido:19790106|doi-access=free}}</ref> Bee pollen is harvested as [[food]] for humans and marketed as having various, but yet unproven, health benefits.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Denisow|first1=Bożena|last2=Denisow-Pietrzyk|first2=Marta|date=2016-10-01|title=Biological and therapeutic properties of bee pollen: a review|journal=Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture|volume=96|issue=13|pages=4303–4309|doi=10.1002/jsfa.7729|issn=1097-0010|pmid=27013064|bibcode=2016JSFA...96.4303D }}</ref>