Yes Maples are one of their plants. It's important mainly for brood rearing and to help them recover the the winter. As far as I can find out from the research I've done so far, all of the maples are good honey and pollen sources.
Thanks for the heads up on the National Geographic. Our bees are bringing in some yellow/brown pollen and lots of it so we are going to try to track them this afternoon to see where they are getting it from. We have lots of trees but as far as we can see nothing is blooming yet. So a walk through the woods and edges of the property is in order.
Someone has told my husband that the Extension office has a program to encourage people to become beekeepers. We are hoping to check into that tomorrow.
