Homemade pollen patties are great to give your hive a boost during times when pollen is scarce. Here are some tips for making them. First, moisten the pellets with saliva or honey. Next, mix in some brewer’s yeast. Finally, store them in a jar and feed them to your bees. It’s that simple! And now your hive is ready for a spring or summer boost!
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Pollen handlers moisten the pellets with honey and saliva
If a bee were to collect pollen from a flower, it would be difficult for her to pick up the pellets, but she can do it herself by moistening them with saliva or honey. Besides the pollen pellets, the bee moves all kinds of debris from the hive. These debris include dead bees, deformed brood, small predators, and even wood chips or cardboard. Pollen pellets are moved to the storage comb and dropped into the cells.
They then mix in brewer’s yeast
When making pollen patties, beekeepers mix pollen with brewer’s yeast to increase the flavor. The result is an incredibly tasty alternative to pollen in a sandwich or other open food. The pollen patties are then placed over a cluster of brood to feed the bees. The pollen patty should be within a few inches of the brood for maximum effectiveness.
Beekeepers use pollen patties to help supplement their brood during periods of low pollen supply, which can cause bee populations to dwindle and ultimately collapse. Many beekeepers use different recipes when making pollen patties, but the main requirement is that the pollen substitute is easily digested by the bees and contains a balanced amount of nutrients.
They store them in a jar
Beekeepers collect pollen from beehives and store it in jars for later use. It is very hard to digest at room temperature, so they need to use a sugar syrup to make the patties more digestible. The syrup should contain about 30% of its weight. Beekeepers also add a layer of cardboard over the patties to prevent any deterioration. However, if you want to make sure the pollen patties stay fresh for a longer period of time, it is not necessary to use a rag or cardboard.
Beekeepers also use pollen patties to feed their bees during the winter. These patties contain a mixture of pollen, sugar, lemon juice, citric acid, oil, yeast, and dried egg. This combination is ideal for providing supplementary food for bees during times when nectar is scarce and can attract small beetles to the hive. Beekeepers usually store pollen patties in a jar to ensure that they don’t run out of the substance.
They feed them to bees
Most people are aware that they can feed pollen patties to their honey bees, but what exactly is it? These pies are essentially mashed-up pieces of pollen. They can be fed to all bee colonies, and they are especially useful to colonies that need to build up their worker bees for the winter. Pollen patties are also useful in winter when nectar is scarce.
Pollen substitute patties are different than natural pollen, but some workers do ingest them. The pollen patties do not become bee bread and they do not provide nutrition for larvae. Besides, they are minimally lost as colony debris. The reason for this is that they are very hard for bees to digest. They can only survive if they are fed regularly and not given too much.
They discourage robbing
Beekeepers can deter robbing by making pollen patties. These treats are made from pollen, sugar, lemon juice, citric acid, oil, and yeast, and are great supplementary feed during periods of low nectar flow. Moreover, pollen patties attract smaller hive beetles to your hives. In the end, these treats will be beneficial to both you and your bees.
Generally, pollen patties contain no real pollen, but they are made to look like it. You can buy a commercial mix or make them yourself from scratch. Either way, you’ll need to prepare them before using them. Just remember to keep the containers out of reach of children and pets. In this way, robbing will become discouraged and you’ll be assured of a continuous supply of pollen.
