Those who has used pollen patties

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Finman

Queen Bee
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
27,887
Reaction score
2,026
Location
Finland, Helsinki
Hive Type
Langstroth
.
Last month has been in UK cold and hives have been short of pollen. Did different pollen patties helped?

One problem is that if bees do not like the quality of pollen patty, they do not eate it or they cannot eate it because of its hardiness.


- Do you have brood and capped brood in your hives?

- Those who have used neopol, do you have brood in hives. The protein content seem to be a secret.
 
.
- Do you have brood and capped brood in your hives?


Lots still to check, biggest so far was one yesterday with 16 frames of brood, st Nd, nearly full frames of brood, not little patches.
 
Last edited:
Costa del Exmoor?
 
On the few checked so far, there is brood of all stages.

I could probably get some Neopol analysed at an agricultural feed laboratory for free.

If this happens I'll post the analysis.
 
.
Last month has been in UK cold and hives have been short of pollen. Did different pollen patties helped?

One problem is that if bees do not like the quality of pollen patty, they do not eate it or they cannot eate it because of its hardiness.


- Do you have brood and capped brood in your hives?
......................


As posted previously, I have tried feeding fondant with 30% pollen added by heating the fondant and stirring in the pollen. Started beginning of February and they have been taking it down well.

Haven't checked brood situation yet except one (out of 10 fed) which had no/very marginal response compared to hive beside it with a sister queen with no inputs since autumn. Both started brood production probably ~ 2/3 weeks ago.

Other hives fed the supplement (from different queen lines) were more noticeable in their water collection so some may have benefited. The queen line of the ones checked are naturally slow starters but build up quickly.

Not in the UK - (just west of) the western edge of civilisation.:D
 
Last edited:
- (just west of) the western edge of civilisation.:D


West is best PBee :) I envy you the atlantic coastline, the Irish sea (mor Iwerydd) is a bit tame by comparison.
My past experiences with feeding pollen sub in Spring has lead me to not waste my resources - in my situation - but I have a hunch that feeding sub/sup last Autumn might have been more cost effective.
 
One hive with clear crownboard and therefore slightly less intrusive to check, consumed 1kg of neopoll at the same rate as fondant over a period of about 6 weeks. All 'live' hives fetching in more or less the first pollen of the season, even in winds of around 20mph.

From observations made, and by interpolating in the gaps there have been about 6 days where foraging for pollen has occurred this year. In a 'normal' year by now I would have expected at least 40 days where pollen was seen entering the hive.

Cluster temperatures noticeably stepped up a couple of weeks ago but the season is at least two weeks from any possibility of nectar flow.

(@ around 53.5 deg Latitude)
 
.....
My past experiences with feeding pollen sub in Spring has lead me to not waste my resources - in my situation - but I have a hunch that feeding sub/sup last Autumn might have been more cost effective.

I would agree, until I can prove otherwise myself for local conditions, on Spring pollen sub - particularly a 'normal' Spring.

On the Autumn pollen sub feeding, it appears that the reduction in pollen availability is one of the triggers for the production of winter bees - so unless there is an unusually long period of complete confinement it is probably not necessary given reasonable flora sources.

We found that the performance of winter bees was not enhanced by supplementing colonies with pollen in the fall, nor did worker function suffer if pollen supply was restricted. Similar numbers of winter bees survived to spring in colonies and workers had similar physiology and brood-rearing efficiencies. These results suggest that beekeepers would not benefit by investing in fall pollen supplements to maximize colony growth in early spring.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8486937
 
I

On the Autumn pollen sub feeding, it appears that the reduction in pollen availability ]

Once I reared in August six one box nuc with electrict and with soya-yeast patty. The build up was amazing but all nucs were almost dead before next spring. I suppose that bees need real pollen to be prepared for winter.

.
 
..... I suppose that bees need real pollen to be prepared for winter.

I lost one out of 6 this winter (a 6 frame nuc with insulation on an industrial scale), and found that they had no pollen left at all, so I assume the winter bees need the real stuff to lay down fat for personal insulation.

As to the Neopoll, subsequent to the above discovery, I slid some of it (and Nektapol as well) under the polycarb quilts of the remaining boxes. The bees took it readily, even though they have plentiful honey stores, with a slight preference for the Nektapol, which as you doubtless know is formulated with real pollen, rather than pollen substitute.

All 5 boxes have brood in all stages from egg to capped, varying from 2 half frames in the 6 frame nuc, up to 4 full frames in the national with Buckfasts. That Italian gene really does make for a very different behaviour pattern.

May the warm weather continue!
Marc
 
A little off-topic.

My lot seem to be fussy - first they ignored Tesco's finest fondant, and then they largely ignored the Fera recipe pollen patty ...

So - as an experiment, I've been adding a tablespoonful of the ignored patty into 1/2 litre of 1:1, whisking it up in the blender, then scalding it in the microwave to kill any live yeast cells, then offering it to just one hive in an overhead jar feeder, next to an identical jar feeder containing pure 1:1.

The syrup with the added nutrients is being taken slightly faster than the pure stuff - the rate difference being something around 5:4 or thereabouts.

Hardly earth-shattering news, but though it might be of passing interest ...

LJ
 
I have used Neopoll but not in all hives. The ones with Neopoll are doing well,better than the ones without BUT it's not a fair comparison as I picked the best hives to try to push them to be ready for spring rape.

Minimally fed in Autumn as the ivy supply here is magnificent.
Cazza
 
I lost one out of 6 this winter (a 6 frame nuc with insulation on an industrial scale), and found that they had no pollen left at all, so I assume the winter bees need the real stuff to lay down fat for personal insulation.

As to the Neopoll, subsequent to the above discovery, I slid some of it (and Nektapol as well) under the polycarb quilts of the remaining boxes. The bees took it readily, even though they have plentiful honey stores, with a slight preference for the Nektapol, which as you doubtless know is formulated with real pollen, rather than pollen substitute.

All 5 boxes have brood in all stages from egg to capped, varying from 2 half frames in the 6 frame nuc, up to 4 full frames in the national with Buckfasts. That Italian gene really does make for a very different behaviour pattern.

May the warm weather continue!
Marc

Isn't it the other way round? i.e. Neopoll has pollen, Nektopoll does not?
 
Isn't it the other way round? i.e. Neopoll has pollen, Nektopoll does not?

It's a foodstuff. Shouldn't it be clearly labelled with the ingredients?

I suppose the manufacturers don't want us to find out what is in it.
 
Yes, so far I have been unable to find out how much pollen it contains.
Anyway, all my survivors are eating it and laying.
 
It was my first time using pollen substitute patties this year.My first batch that I made up went a bit on the Dry side and was off no use to hives that were under strength , Stronger one were able to made some inroads into it. I took some of them off and remixed them with some more inverted syrup till it was just about a little thicker than wallpaper paste and they devoured it. I lost another couple of colonies learning this mistake , and also that they must have liquid stores. Before this queens looked skinny and malnourished and brood patterns were patchy. A few of my queens had not started to lay and it took about a week and a half of feeding on the pollen Pattie before they came into lay. Now they look real healthy and there is a shine off them. The strongest have taken about a pound so far , but with even the weakest ones, you can start to feel the heat on the crown boar as their brood nest is starting to develop. I had problem sourcing the ingredients so I did not get started, till about till nearly April. My brood patter, now averages from two and a half frame down to the size of you palm. Yesterday was the first day that any pollen has come into the hives since September in any quantity and today is another miserable they that would not put the dog out in and not much good news in the weather forecast. I am going down to the shed now to mix up another batch of pollen patties. I have all my ingredients now, so next year, they will be getting their pollen patties on St Patrick's day.
 
I have given them all the choice of fondant or pattie. Most colonies prefer Neopoll to both. I have put pattie on about 20 colonies. It is hard to be sure, but my main observation is that they have more brood than I would expect for the number of bees. Next year I will put the patties on earlier.
 
I put 500g feedbee slurry on 10 hives in mid february

about 5 have taken it all and 3 taken 50% 2 not touched it

Brood increase, well anacdotally those that took more have one more frame of brood, all were about the same size going into winter, but was that due to the queen or the feedbee

A further similar test of some association hive with a thicker mix (for ease of applying) seemed less palatable to the Bees and only about 25% max taken, no reall difference in brood on these
 
Hi Finman, PBee and all,
You can use me as control, as I have not used any pollen patties at all. Waited for the weather to turn knowing there was plentiful pollen to be had and felt that I had left it too late anyhow. As luck has it, all my four colonies has brood. The last one inspected today four frames, two frames size of saucers both sides which surprised me. Big pollen stores as of this minute, but there was an aweful lot of eggs laid so it will not last long. As a matter of interest my winter bees must have absolutely gorged themselves on pollen as so much Ivy went in but not a scrap left on 5th March. I have started freezing pollen for next year and was thinking of doing what you did PBee. Would it preserve the vitamins better just to sprinkle the pollen in as you knead the fondant (less heat)?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top