pollen trap

[buz]

Never used a pollen trap. There sure is plenty available just now--Cottonwood, Mesquite, Oak, Sumac.... I have a trap with drawer. I can set the brood box ontop...but how long should I keep it on?
Planning to add second box of foundation as one manipulation. Would it be fair to move on to another colony after a week--two?
What should I look for in the drawer? Guess the pollen needs to be dried/frozen//? Anticipation is high.

[RAlex]

Good question ...I just got a sundance ll top pollen trap and have the same question. today I tasted some pollen ...ummmm good...Rick

[Velbert]

Hi buz I usally leave mine on for 2 mounths or so .Just make sure the hive has only the bottom entrance that they are using the traps I use it knocks off about 50-60% of there loads after awhile the bees learn to get in with more pollen it seems they start collecting smaller loads and learn to turn sideways to not knock off all the pollen My traps have the hardware cloth 5 per inch You need to have a drone escape hole I would usally leave it pluged off for a day or two not any longer the drones will clog up the entrance trying to get out so the workers cant get in or out very easy, also will block circulation It uaslly takes them a few days to get use to the trap. if you keep taking the trap on and off its to confusing on them ... the first trap I used, you put it on the bottom Board just like a super then stacked the hive on top i put in on aug 15 in about 30 days i took 10 lbs of pollen off they made about 80 lbs honey i checked the brood boxes and the bottom brood had pollen in every frame. these were the starline Bees from George E Curtis in Labell Fl.

[Velbert]

(Caution) dont put pollen trap on if the hive has swarmed or you know there is a virgin Queen she wont be able to get out to mate.she might find her way out the drone escape hole but I wouldn't to chance it

[power napper]

RAlex--the sundance II came with real good easy to understand instructions. I leave mine on the hive and it works extremely well, like the directions say it take a while to get the bees used to it. I still can not believe how clean the pollen is when I collect it in the evening.

[buz]

Thnx for the responses. I'll have to see about a drone escape. How often dose the drawer need to be emptied? And please--cleaning in front of a fan/winowing--then what? Does the pollen require freezer time?

[Joel]

We collect several hundred pounds of pollen a year. We pull it daily as it mold quickly here and unlike honey will spoil. You may get away longer due to the arid conditions. We then freeze the pollen in gallon zip lock bags for a few days to kill any wax moths eggs. Then it is into the dryer, food grade dehydrater is all we use set on 95 F. After it's dried I pour from a quart plastic ( out or gallon container) container into a plastic salad bowl slightly tilted away from the fan set on high. It will take you a little experimenting to find the right angle and distance from the fan. The static in the plastic will help repel the chaff that gets past the fan. One run if you pour slow and steady will give you pretty clean pollen. Into container for sale and off to market $10 lb. Have some education sheets available as pollen is loaded with the good stuff and that's what sells it. Good luck, happy winnowing!

[carbide]

Joel,
This is the first year that I've collected pollen off of my hives. I've got a couple of questions that you may be able to answer.

Do you weigh the pollen after you dry it or before you dry it? What quantities do you sell it in? 1/4 lb, 1/2 lb or full lb? I assume you sell it in airtight containers, is this true?

The last couple of years I've had a considerable number of customers ask if I had pollen for sale and I finally decided to try it but I don't want to cheat either my customers or myself by selling it too high or too low.

[Patrick Scannell]

To add to carbide's questions....

How can you tell when pollen is dry enough not to mold in a sealed container on the shelf?

Thanks.

[Jim Fischer]

Pollen must be kept in a freezer in a NON-airtight container,
to allow the freezer to de-humidify the pollen and
preserve it. One must also "stir" the pollen every few weeks
to keep moisture from building up below the surface
pollen. Anything less will result in spoiled moldy pollen.

As far as weight goes, weighing it as it comes out of the
freezer is the best method, as the moisture will be constant,
and the weights consistent.

Pollen simply cannot be kept "on the shelf" unless it has
been overtly dehydrated. GNC and the other vitamin
stores sell bottles of stuff claimed to be pollen, stuff that
MIGHT have been pollen at one time, stuff that apparently
does not suffer any further degredation from being kept
on a shelf, but dry and tasteless gunk like that is my best
sales tool. I let people taste "theirs" when they taste mine,
so that the comparison is side-by-side.

[allrawpaul]

What about the stuff they sell at the health food store that's in the refer section and not molding? Supposed to be totally raw. Is it treated with something to prevent mold? Thanks, paul.

[Michael Bush]

>What about the stuff they sell at the health food store that's in the refer section and not molding?

It's just really dry and drying is a very good "preservative".

[allrawpaul]

The refer pollen seems moist, because it is very soft compared to the almost crunchy pollen on the shelf. Dry doesnt neccessarily mean hard then. Thanks.