How To Make Homemade Bee Patty

Of all the honey bee feed supplements available on the marketplace today, pollen patties are, perhaps, the about commonly explored supplement in today's apiaries. And while many opinions do exist — like anything beekeeping related — there are a few tenets on how to feed dearest bees pollen patties that are good to adhere to as you learn what works best in your ain bee yard. Today nosotros'll explore why honey bees need pollen and how to make pollen patties.

Why Exercise Honey Bees Need Pollen?

To best utilize pollen patties, an understanding of pollen'due south employ in the hive is in social club. Simply as in human being diets, bees need a carbohydrate source and a protein source. For bees, carbs come from dear and/or sugar syrup. These carbs provide the free energy needed for adults to conduct their day-to-day business organisation such every bit foraging, house duties, and guarding the hive.

Protein, on the other hand, comes from pollen and is consumed primarily by larvae with very little going to adult bees. Protein is and so important that in the absenteeism of sufficient pollen, brood production drops significantly, even coming to a complete halt in many cases. This dependence on a sufficient protein source is the driving force behind the idea of adding pollen patties to one's hives.

This is where the differing opinions come into play. To oversimplify, bees don't ever need tons of pollen in the hive considering while at that place are specific times when pollen is crucial to a hive's continued existence, there are times when an abundance of pollen may actually be detrimental to a hive.

During times of intense population buildup, such as belatedly winter and spring, colonies strive to maximize colony size prior to the get-go predictable nectar catamenia, which usually occurs in early on to mid-leap. This buildup phase is akin to having a house total of growing teenage athletes with an unlimited need for food. If an apiary is in a locale with limited pollen availability during spring buildup, the colony will endure. The trouble here is that spring buildup begins shortly later on the winter solstice, a fourth dimension when many areas may experience a lack of natural pollen making the utilize of pollen patties a justified management option.

When Should Yous Feed Pollen Patties?

Before plopping that patty downwards in the hive, understand there is a significant risk involved. The more brood a hive has, the more nutrient that hive needs, and the faster they will run through their winter stores. Compounding this issue is the necessity of increasing the temperature effectually the growing brood. In a broodless hive, clustering bees maintain a primal temperature of around 70ºF while a hive with brood requires a temperature closer to 94ºF. Retrieve in terms of heating your firm. If y'all bump up your heat by 24ºF every day, your free energy bill is going to go through the roof. And so does the colony'due south demand for energy and thus the demand for more food. This puts the hive in danger of running through their stores too fast and starving to death before the nectar flow begins. Because of this, many beekeepers elect to NOT supplement pollen, assuasive nature to run its course with the bees only building upwardly once they decide sufficient naturally available pollen is available.

Another concern for calculation pollen patties too shortly is prolonged cold spells during buildup. The larger the brood pattern, the more adult bees are needed to maintain the right temperature. If the brood pattern outgrows the cluster size — piece of cake to do as the aging winter bees slowly dwindle away— bees may be spread too thin during a long cold spell and risk expiry past freezing and starvation. Again, yet another reason that many choose to not supplement.

If you're on the debate about pollen subs, the best way to decide if your girls need supplemental pollen is to spring in and give it a try while keeping the aforementioned concerns in mind. For the first experiment, I recommend waiting until later the winter solstice at a minimum to reduce the chances of growing besides much too shortly. Each area is different with early bound pollen availability varying by as much as 3 months or more across the U.Southward, then experimentation volition be cardinal here.

How to Make Pollen Patties

DIY patties are easy to make, and you can store leftover patties in the freezer or a spare refrigerator until needed. Bees are notorious for tossing out any items they deem unnecessary to their survival. If your colonies don't need the extra help, you'll likely observe patty crumbles scattered on the landing board.

To get started making your own patties, you lot'll need a recipe. Many are readily available online with many folks calculation various supplements such as essential oils, amino acids, or probiotics. Nevertheless, it'south often best to begin past keeping it elementary.

What Y'all'll Need to Brand Pollen Patties:

+ A container of pollen substitute
(available through many bee supply companies)
+ Either 1:1 or ii:1 sugar syrup
+ A mixer or sturdy spoon

There are no explicit quantities of either ingredient for patties. What you're going for is an end product with a house consistency that tin can be placed on a sheet of wax paper and flattened. Depending on how many hives you want to feed, cascade near 1 cup into the bowl per hive to get yous started. And so add only enough sugar syrup to make a malleable dough. Some Beeks create firmer patties that resemble biscuit dough while others make a peanut butter cookie dough texture. It'southward actually a matter of preference, then experiment with what you and your bees like all-time.

Once you lot take your dough ready, just scoop a portion out and flatten betwixt ii sheets of wax paper using your hands or a roller. Place immediately on the hives direct in a higher place the brood so nurse bees have like shooting fish in a barrel access. Some folks prefer to remove all of the wax paper while others leave the bottom section of wax paper to rest upon the frames. Either mode works, so again it'southward up to your preferences.

The corporeality of time a patty lasts in a hive depends on the needs of the bees and how interested they are in removing unwanted patties. The 1 problem to sentinel for is small hive beetles in areas that have these pests, particularly during warm conditions. SHB adore patties and believe y'all made these but for them. It is often recommended to remove any uneaten patty inside 72 hours to help forestall SHB buildup instead of bee buildup if beetles are a business organization.

That's basically all there is to know regarding how to make pollen patties. Equally important is understanding how and why a colony may need pollen substitutes. If you're interested in learning fifty-fifty more means to improve your feeding options, be sure to bank check out this DIY hive top feeder. Yous may too be interested in how to make fondant for bees. One of the keys to beekeeping success is to continue learning how to provide the best diet we can for our bees and be willing to experiment a bit with what nosotros learn.