[gumbee51]

the bees have been collecting pollen here on the warm days;which have been few.i was wondering if it is possible to feed dry soy bean flour on the inner cover similar to how you might feed dry granulated sugar??? or do i have to make patties? thanks! rick

 

[janvanhamont]

In order for the bees to take up soy bean flour they will treat it like pollen: first the will take it with their mouth parts, add some saliva, fly up and transfer it to the front legs and then move it by their front front legs to the pollen baskets. This means that they have to be able to fly about 3 inches above the tray. Therefore dry pollen substitute should be offered in an open tray.
Janvanhamont

 

[GreenMountainRose]

For what it is worth, I would like to share a little anecdote. A number of years ago, my child discovered what turned out to be a nest of motherless mice in our cellar. Instead of killing the babies, we put them in a cage and raised them on soy milk. Once the mice could eat solid food (dog food), we released them into the woods. I always wondered how these mice did, because their heads were all BALD.