Pollen Substitute with Fondant

[Cuttingedge]

Has anyone here fed fondant in the early spring and added pollen substitute to help with build-up? How did you incorporate the pollen substitute? I am thinking about adding some fondant to some of my overwintered colonies and am thinking about dusting the fondant with Dry pollen substitute. Thoughts?

 

[Anduril]

This is what I have done with Ultra Bee, watch from 19.30 onwards.
https://youtu.be/aJQGj8vCQRg

 

[Angry_Mob]

How Mike Palmer does it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbOGFxfjL44&t

 

[alfazer]

I provide fondant above a feed hole in the crownboard from Christmas but they might not touch it until late January or after. At the moment (late Feb) this year only one colony is starting to use it and my other 4 haven't touched it yet.

Then late February I add a pollen substitute patty and they always have this eaten by mid/late march. I make it from 2 parts soy flour to 1 part brewers yeast, mixed with just enough sugar syrup to bind it into a paste. Then squeeze between two pieces of greaseproof paper, about the size of an average burger and about 1 beespace thick so it sits under the crownboard.

So I keep the fondant and the pollen sub as two separate things, although the pollen sub does have a little sugar syrup in it.

People here will say this is waste of time because I have no scientific evidence but I do believe the colonies expand quicker in spring when using the pollen sub.

 

[madasafish]

I use Michael palmer's Ultra Bee recipe.
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=532139&posted=1#post532139

As it is sugar based, no need to feed fondant as well.

 

[Finman]

People here will say this is waste of time because I have no scientific evidence but I do believe the colonies expand quicker in spring when using the pollen sub.

First scientific laboratory studies have been made in USA 1977.
To feed in practice is often difficult. The patty hardens, it takes mold, bees do not eate it. People do not mind to learn, to to use it. It took me 2 years that I learned to make proper patty.

But all people believe that sugar feeding accelerates brooding, even if it does not.

Read Heather Mattila's writings.

I have collected my recipe from scientific reports. But what people do to my recipe, they say that it is too complex, they change the contents and they say that it does not work.

That I can say from experience, that if I do not have irradiated pollen, no soya yeast recipe will work.
.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

The amount of pollen gone in over the last two weeks surely will make patties redundant this year

 

[Angry_Mob]

The amount of pollen gone in over the last two weeks surely will make patties redundant this year

OP is from Maine, USA with today's temps a chilly - 6 celsius.

 

[Finman]

The amount of pollen gone in over the last two weeks surely will make patties redundant this year

I will get pollen from nature perhaps 20.4. .. If weathers are such that bees can fly. I have pollen stuffs ready, soya, yeast, pollen, vitamins, sugars, water. I feed hives 6 weeks.

 

[Ian123]

The amount of pollen gone in over the last two weeks surely will make patties redundant this year

If the weather in your area continues mild then correct but if there is a prolonged cold snap or just a period of poor weather then feeding patties could well help them out. Having said that the long range forcasts ive seen look ok although turning unsettled but still milder than average.

 

[Finman]

.
How often your spring is perfect for bees?

But ofcourse, bees live without patties, as well as without fondants.