planning for next year - pollen patties

[peteinwilts]

Hi Guys

I am just thinking about making some pollen traps, to trap pollen for next year and I wondered if some pollen is 'more effective' or keeps better than other pollen?

A small number of hives will be going off to the rape, which naturally has a lot of pollen.

Some of the fields that the majority live in are surrounded by seas of wild flowers with a large predominance of buttercups for a while.
Although I read buttercups are of little use in terms of necter, the amount of pollen they shed is enormous.
Often, when the buttercups are out if force I return from an inspection with yellow legs, and some of the hives have bright yellow comb..

Is Rape or wild flower (mostly buttercup) pollen better?

thoughts?
Cheers
Pete

 

[Teemore]

Pete, I've always been told that a mixture of pollen types is better. Thinking about it, different pollen types may well have slightly different nutritional values for the bees - i guess a healthy diet is a mixed diet! Bees kept in American monocultures is cited as one of the potential reasons for colony collapse, the bees are somehow disadvantaged by not getting a good variety of pollen and nectar.

I have also been advised that if i ever plan to use pollen traps, I should not leave them on a hive continuously as they might excessively deplete the amount of pollen going into the hive but I guess that depends on the season and the amount of pollen available to your colonies. I'd be inclined to move pollen traps from hive to hive, only keeping them on for a week or so at a time. No doubt someone else will be along shortly with some practical experience of pollen trapping to set us all right!!

 

[Cazza]

There's an interesting section on pollen protein content in "Keeping healthy honey bees" David Aston & Sally Bucknall 2010 Northern Bee Books.
It describes rape pollen as having "average crude protein content at 24% (with 20% described as the minimum acceptable crude protein content.)

The authors then go on to say "bees fed pollen from a range of plants show signs of having a healthier immune system than bees fed pollen from a single plant source."

They don't mention buttercup in their study.

Cazza

 

[Finman]

.
Rape has a high level pollen. Protein is about 24%. Willow has 15%. Fireweed 10%.

When you use yeast and soyaflour, and 5% pollen, patty works. If you have 1 kg pollen, you may make 20 kg patty (half sugar). You use 10 kg other proteins.

But as it is said, if you catch pollen, don't do it during nectar flow.
I think that it is a huge jam traffic during rape yield.