Pollen Patties

[casper_zip]

Where is the proper place to put the pollen patties ? This will be my first year of using pollen patties.

Also, is it o.k. to use an empty top super to house inside sugar syrup feeders ?

Just asking, don't know, so these to me are not stupid questions. If I knew, I'd not ask.

Thanks for putting up with me,

All the best,

casper_zip

[Keith Jarrett]

Between the upper and lower brood boxes, don't need any rims, just got finish with our third round 6-9 pounds a round.

[Bsweet]

I place pollen patties under the inner cover on top of the frames of the top hive body or super. I use quart mason jars for feeders on top of the inner cover inside a deep hive box and then outer cover. Jim

[Brooklyn]

Were can you purchase Nutra - Bee Patties?

[casper_zip]

I'm using the bee pro patties from Mann Lake.

[mrloba]

why do you want to use pollen patties at this time of the year?? pollen patties is for a increase in brood... you should have all the winter bees you need at this time

Michael

[Ishi]

BIG hives in February for Almond Pollination!

[Joseph Clemens]

mrloba,

I began feeding pollen substitute patties in August to supplement for lack of forage here in the Sonoran desert, primarily because this seasons lack of rain had reduced forage below subsistence levels for my hives and nucs. I will continue my low level of feeding until rains increase forage -- this can happen any time of the year, but usually happens in mid-Summer or Winter, though many years it never happens at all.

As long as it rains or I feed, I can keep raising queens and producing nucs.

[casper_zip]

Wow, this is getting interesting. Now you know why I'm asking all these questions. I was just told that feeding patties is the best way (along with syrup) to have a strong roaring hive coming out of winter ready to roam and gather.

I might have been confused, the Bee Pro patties are from Mann Lake, and I was under the impression to feed in the fall and winter. Someone please correct me on this, and I will research in my books to see what they say.

All the best,

casper_zip

[jdpro5010]

People generally start feeding pollen patties about 6 to 8 weeks before they want their hives booming (for a flow or pollination), sometimes a little earlier. In my area the flows start about 1st week or 2 of May. Therefore if you are going to feed pollen, for this purpose, you would start about 1st. week or 2 of March. I generally put the patties in between my two deep brood boxes but without splitting the cluster. The bees seem to take it better there when it is in close contact with them as compared to when you place the patties on the top brood box or on top of the inner cover. There is generally still snow on the ground here at the time of year so the bees may not even be able to reach the pollen if you put it on the top of the hive.

[Countryboy]

Many northern beekeepers report better overwintering success when they feed patties in the fall. I know commercial beekeepers who say you get the most bang for your buck by feeding in the fall.

Also, keep in mind that early spring pollen is usually tree pollen, which has more protein and is much more nutritious for the bees. This tree pollen helps them build up fast. Fall pollen on the other hand, is usually weed/plant pollens, which don't have the protein content and amino acids the spring pollens do.

For some more indepth stuff about the protein needs and how the winter bees use pollens, Randy Oliver has some good reading here. http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/...tent&task=view

[Barry]

Also, keep in mind that early spring pollen is usually tree pollen, which has more protein and is much more nutritious for the bees. This tree pollen helps them build up fast. Fall pollen on the other hand, is usually weed/plant pollens, which don't have the protein content and amino acids the spring pollens do.

And this is the way it was designed to be. When brood is being reared in the spring, tree pollen. When brood is shutting down in the fall, plant pollen. Makes sense to me. Pollen is not an issue here in northern Illinois. I take that back, hives can become bound up with pollen.

"I’ll be back next month to talk about supplemental feeding. - Randy O."

I knew that was coming!

[Keith Jarrett]

I knew that was coming!

Bless his soul.

[casper_zip]

One of the most "famous" beekeepers in this close area, when I asked for a few tips, he said; pollen patties, feed the bees well, and you will have strong hives come spring.

He really believes in pollen patties for the bees.

[Joseph Clemens]

But does he mean "pollen" patties, or pollen substitute patties? I like to call mine, protein patties, since I don't feed any actual pollen to my bees that they haven't collected themselves. I frequently hear other beeks call anything that isn't carbohydrates (such as sugar syrup or HFCS), "pollen patties", when quite often there is very little or no pollen at all in those patties. I'm not saying that we shouldn't feed it to the bees unless it's 100% pure pollen, just that, we shouldn't call it pollen, unless it really is, and only if it's 100% pollen, otherwise mention how much pollen is really in there. Heck, even if it is 100% real pollen, it could be 100% corn or evergreen pollen, with almost no nutritional value, so disclosing the pollen content might not have any real significance, or it might have a great deal of significance.

If I were to feed my bees copious quantities of HFCS, then harvested it and called it honey, that wouldn't actually make it honey. It may not be exactly like the HFCS that I fed them, but it wouldn't be actual honey either.

[AndreiRN]

I have just made my first pollen paties.
I started small with a kitchen pancake mixer in a bowl.
Some honey and some sugar syrup and an egg and a cup of yeast and half a cup of fresh pollen and it started to get thick.
I had a hard time mixing and addind 2-3 spoons of soy flower.
I had to give up the mixer and go in by hand adding powder sugar until it got harder. Made 8 patties of 1/2 each and will se how the bees will like them.
Next is to do the mixing in the bred machine.
The hard part is after it is to hard for the machine but to soft to use.

[AndreiRN]

Made 3 new batches today with a new twist.
I addes few pinches of powdered thime from 99 cents store and instead of working it until is hard and not so sticky I left it softer and glue like and spread it on a new plastic frame in 3 - 4 vertical rows.
It is hard enough to stay vertical and I inserted 4 of them in the hives to see how they work them.
The rest got the waxed paper with a glob of pollen pattie.
I think it will make the feeding job a lot easyer.