Patties are designed to feed honey bees during winter and early spring in order to increase brood production, by providing both carbohydrates and proteins.
Pollen substitute patties provide an easy, straightforward solution to feed your colony during times of limited natural food resources. Simply place one directly over each frame in your hive.
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Pollen Patties
Patties are protein supplements commonly used by beekeepers to supplement pollen sources when natural sources become difficult. Their cost-efficiency and ease of use make them popular with commercial beekeepers.
The ingredients and ratios vary by manufacturer; some contain pollen, yeast and sugars in paper sandwich patty form for easy handling and application, while others use compressed grasses, flowers or seeds in similar formats to simplify application.
Global’s pollen patties don’t differ nutritionally or protein wise, but rather in their consumption rate. A patty with 4% pollen has a slow consumption rate and should be fed gradually over time while one with 15% pollen will need to be given more frequently for maximum bee health benefits. Smoke down your hive before placing full patties inside with perforations facing outward so the bees can access them more readily.
Winter Patties
When temperatures become too cold to go outside, beekeepers can provide their bees with extra food by placing sugar cakes or patties above their cluster in the hive. These carbohydrates-rich food sources contain no pollen. Betterbee carries pre-formulated winter patties specifically designed to be used this way.
These winter patties do not contain pollen but instead feature high protein content that encourages brood rearing and provides essential nutrition to bees. Formulated using AP23 (an extremely palatable mix of high protein foods that bees love), plus Honey-B-Healthy for strengthening immunity systems and overall bee health.
Some beekeepers introduce emergency feeding patty mixes as early as February, which could prove disastrous if their colony quickly consumes all of it before having time to build its pollen stores for natural spring pollen flow. Therefore, it is wise to wait until daylight increases before initiating such emergency feeding efforts.
Spring Patties
Springtime brings more bee pollen production for feeding their brood. Some beekeepers supplement their hives with pollen patties in order to encourage this early brood development, although this is usually not necessary for backyard beekeepers.
These patties are easy to make and versatile in their uses – stuff them into pita bread or burger buns, serve them as side dishes, or add them into salads for an easy side dish that reheats well!
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir with your hands until everything is evenly mixed. Form into several patties and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight before heating some oil in a skillet to fry each patty until deep golden brown on both sides. Serve this tasty treat as an appetizer or snack at any gathering, or use as lunch/dinner on-the-go!
Feeding Schedule
Pollen patties should only be fed as a supplement when your local honey bees are unable to forage on their own and/or you need to encourage brood rearing. As additional variables enter your hive with each feeding session, be sure to conduct controlled experiments to observe its impact.
For this trial, hives were divided into three treatment groups: Winter patties, Summer patties and no patty. To further mitigate any effect from sugar fondant in protein patties on our control group.
Winter patties contain mostly carbohydrates with small amounts of protein to discourage queens from rearing too early during the winter season. They should be placed into your hive sometime between November and December – or before temperatures become too low to open your hive – in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.
