ABSTRACT.The digestion of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) pollen by adult worker honeybees (Apis melliferaLinn.; Hymenoptera: Apidae) was initiated at the germination pores. 30 min after feeding, pollen had reached the anterior midgut and the germination pores had become swollen. This permitted further removal of protoplasm during the next 2 h of digestion as the pollen passed into the middle portion of the midgut. 3 h after feeding, pollen grains had reached the posterior midgut where some had ruptured to release both ‘naked’ protoplasm and masses of protoplasm but many remained intact or were only partially digested; undigested pollen grains passed unchanged to the rectum. The lipid‐rich pollenkitt layer was removed from the exine during digestion. Our studies indicate that dandelion pollen was not utilized completely by hone