What to do with pollen patties?

[Panteg]

I have acquired two pollen patties as freebies when I bought MAQ strips from a certain company keen to establish themselves this side of the pond. There were no instructions about when or how to use them. I guess they go directly onto the top of the brood frames. But when and why would my bees need them? They always seems to have plenty of pollen stores available and seem to have survived happily for the last four years without such treats.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They always seems to have plenty of pollen stores available and seem to have survived happily for the last four years without such treats.

exactly

 

[dpearce4]

pollen patties should be put on the hive early spring to help the colony build up ready for any early flows eg OSR.

Do be careful that the pollen in the patties has been treated before you decide to use it as you don't want to give your bees anything nasty that could be in the pollen.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You might as well pop them on in the spring, they have got sugar in them at least.
I used to give the bees neopoll after oxalic but decided it's a waste of time

 

[MuswellMetro]

pollen patties should be put on the hive early spring to help the colony build up ready for any early flows eg OSR.

Do be careful that the pollen in the patties has been treated before you decide to use it as you don't want to give your bees anything nasty that could be in the pollen.

think OP may be confusing pollen subsitutes patties with pollen supplement patties

i assume these were the free pollen patties came from the new USA mega beehive supplier's special offer, so they DO NOT contain pollen so are possiblly a mix of gram flour, soya flour, sugar ,yeast and milk protein

so if you have a pollen dearth in the hive and only if you want to increase brood for something like early OSR foraging then use them at least brood cycle plus 3 weeks prior to the expected OSR but no more than two brood cycles as you can get stunted bees on the third cycle due to missing essential amino acids

Have i used them Yes, do i use them now No

 

[itma]

The Mann Lake products are indeed pollen substitutes, rather than containing actual pollen (so no question of disease risk).

Mann Lake offer two such products, each as a 'dry feed' or patties. .
http://www.mannlake.co.uk/beekeeping-supplies/category/page32.html

Agree with MM's reminder that it takes more than a month from egg to flying bee, and that egg-laying may take a while to build up after starting protein feeding. So, stimulative feeding needs to be more than a month before the nectar flow for which you want the bees.
However, I'm surprised by the comment about missing amino acids. "A complete amino acid profile" is one of Mann Lake's catalogue's claims for these products …

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I made soy patties until I noticed heavy poos, did a bit of research and discovered that soy is full of sugars toxic to bees.

 

[sipa]

I've posted on this subject before, so am not going to repeat myself.

There is a lot of rubbish posted by people who have little or no knowledge of nutrition, and specifically nutrition of honeybees.

Speculation about ingredients is also pointless. Kitchen sink formulas can do far more harm than good, so be warned !

It is possible to formulate a protein supplement that is both complimentary and in some respects superior to pollen.

Although none of the normal suspects meet that standard.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The Mann Lake products are indeed pollen substitutes, rather than containing actual pollen (so no question of disease risk).

Mann Lake offer two such products, each as a 'dry feed' or patties. .
http://www.mannlake.co.uk/beekeeping-supplies/category/page32.html

Agree with MM's reminder that it takes more than a month from egg to flying bee, and that egg-laying may take a while to build up after starting protein feeding. So, stimulative feeding needs to be more than a month before the nectar flow for which you want the bees.
However, I'm surprised by the comment about missing amino acids. "A complete amino acid profile" is one of Mann Lake's catalogue's claims for these products …

Beginning to get the feeling that you are acting as a rep. for this company ITMA!

 

[Bosleeu]

Since you got them free, you may as well pop them on top of the frames in Spring, maybe on one of your colonies that are slow to build up. Could possibly help, and I don't think it will do any harm.

 

[sipa]

OK, I'm back in !

Although Mann Lake "Claim" to have a complete Amino Acid Profile, that is actually NOT TRUE.

There are some serious imbalances in the profile of the Amino Acids quoted.

They do not even quote the one all the others must relate to.

As an analogy, people can survive on a crappy diet, but they can get ill and don't perform to the max, same is true of bees !

 

[REDWOOD]

If you get a long cold spring like we did in 2013 especially if your hives are high up in the mountains your bees may benefit from pollen patties. Wally Shaw discovered that most of his hives had run out of pollen and the transition between winter bees and summer bees was slow. Normally I would not use patties but if they needed it they would defiantly get it

 

[itma]

Beginning to get the feeling that you are acting as a rep. for this company ITMA!

Not guilty. I hold no such brief.
But they are 'local' to me, and I don't like seeing misinformation.
They are setting up a vast operation - I was a bit staggered by the size of the warehouse. But thus far most of my trade has continued to be with Payne & Thorne.
Pleased with my Mann Lake 5 US Gallon buckets though. And the strainer that fits them is the cheapest 200 micron I've come across …

 

[Panteg]

If you get a long cold spring like we did in 2013 especially if your hives are high up in the mountains your bees may benefit from pollen patties. Wally Shaw discovered that most of his hives had run out of pollen and the transition between winter bees and summer bees was slow. Normally I would not use patties but if they needed it they would defiantly get it

Thanks for all the interesting comments. I think I'll go with Redwood here (my bees are often pretty defiant too!). The patties will stay in the freezer unless we get another endlessly cold wet spring with no pollen to be had.