During the winter and early spring, feeding pollen patties to your bees can provide a protein supplement to your colony. This will help them build worker bees, and can be particularly useful for overwintering colonies. However, you should not feed pollen patties to bees during the summertime, as they may not be suitable for the insects’ needs.
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Pollen patties are a protein supplement that stimulates brood production
Beekeepers commonly feed pollen patties to their hives during times of pollen dearth. Generally, this happens during early spring, late February, and early March. However, the timing of the feeding depends on climate, flowering time of the year, and colony size. When nectar is scarce, bees can starve, and some commercial beekeepers supplement in the fall.
Pollen patties provide a protein and fiber supplement to bees that increases brood production. They also encourage nurse bees to secrete more royal jelly, which is the substance fed to young bee larvae. This helps nurse bees produce more brood, and it gives worker bees the energy to build comb.
Bees require a high level of protein for their proper development and reproduction. Bee colonies that do not receive sufficient protein will suffer from slow growth, and may succumb to disease. Insufficient protein levels in the colony will also affect wintering and almond harvesting. Hence, it is important to provide high-quality pollen.
They are not a source of protein for adult bees
Pollen patties are often used to feed bees. The patties can be used for both carbohydrate and protein needs. Bees get the carbs from sugar syrups and honey. These two sources of food are important for their daily activities.
Pollen is essential for young bees. The first two weeks of their lives are spent consuming large amounts of pollen. This mass consumption begins around 42 to 52 hours old and peaks between four and five days old. During this time, the bee’s organs and glands are fully developed.
Pollen patties are not a good source of protein for adult bees. While they are important to the larvae, adult bees do not eat pollen. They carry the pollen back to the hive and process it. This is done by mixing the pollen with their saliva, which starts a fermentation process in which the pollen turns into a more digestible form. Pollen is important for bees, but many beekeepers use other food sources for the bees.
In the experiments, the bees were fed one mL of sucrose solution per day and a protein supplement. The time spent on each of the two types of diets was recorded to the minute, and the average consumption per bee was determined.
They are not a source of food for robber bees
Pollen patties are not a source for robber bees. They mimic the protein found in pollen, but do not contain the pollen itself. There are different recipes for pollen patties, but most contain a pollen substitute.
Some beekeepers use pollen patties as a food source for their bees. However, these patties do not have the high sugar content necessary to stimulate brood production. While granulated sugar is not a source of food for robber bees, it can be useful during the winter months.
Pollen patties are meant to resemble real flower pollen. They can either be purchased ready-made or made at home. You will need to purchase the patties in small packages. If you are unable to find them, you can also make your own patties.
When feeding colonies with pollen patties, they perform as well as those fed with natural pollen. In comparison, the colonies fed with unsupplemented control performed the worst. They had fewer colonies and did not recover as well as the ones that were fed with patties. The results of the experiments show that pollen patties do not provide a food source for robber bees, but they are effective for other bees.
They should not be used in the summer
Pollen patties are used as a food source by bees. While they can be beneficial, they should not be used during the summer, because bees will tend to prefer natural pollen. It is best to use a natural food source such as flowers, as pollen patties are likely to attract solitary bees. Bees can also become dependent on these patties, which will lead to the production of more bees and brood.
In June, plantains and blackberries were in bloom, and they provided an excellent pollen source. There was also plenty of nectar shaking from the combs. I checked each hive to see if it had consumed the patties. Both the Treatment and Control hives had consumed a little fondant, but not enough.
The pollen patties should be provided until the weather is warm enough to allow for daily foraging. However, inconsistent supplementation of pollen may do more harm than good to your bees’ health. Insufficient pollen can lead to outbreaks of European Foul Brood (EFB), which can be particularly damaging in chilly, rainy spring seasons.
