Does pollen go bad?

[Honeycomb]

I have a small container of pollen a friend gave me and it has been sitting in the cupboard for quite a while. Will it go bad, and how can you tell?

[Dubuquer]

I just started collecting pollen this year and have been keeping it in the freezer. I am hoping this keeps it from spoiling so I can use it to feed the girls next winter.

[Michael Bush]

If it has mold on it, then it is "bad". If it's dry it won't spoil, but it will lose nutritional value. The bees don't actually store pollen. They ferment pollen into bee bread and store bee bread. Bee bread will retain it's nutrition much longer than pollen. Your pollen will still be more nutritious than substitute, but not as nutritious as fresh pollen.

[BEES4U]

RE:
Old pollen is better and Pollen Substitute.

There are Pollen Subs out there that are far superior to pollen!
Regards,
Ernie

[Michael Bush]

There are plenty of studies that show bees raised on substitute do not live as long as bees raised on pollen. Jim Fischer has posted them many times in the past and I'm sure you could find them if you like.