Episode 08 Pollen Substitute

Beekeeping short and sweet - A Beekeeping podcast for the inquisitive beekeeper with a short attention span, a beekeeper, in fact, just like me! In this week's podcast, I'm talking about Pollen Substitute, why you might use it, how to mix it up and how to use it. Unless you've been keeping honeybees for a prolonged period of time it can seem that at every turn there's yet another difficult choice to make. Here's my take on one of those choices, whether to feed your honeybees pollen substitute and if so, how to feed it to them. Following a long, drawn out Winter our honeybees sometimes struggle in the first few weeks of Spring, variable weather, certainly something we get all too often here in the UK, can see the bees explode from the hive en masse foraging for pollen and nectar on one day only to be huddled back up in a cluster the next. I suspect most beekeepers will have considered feeding some fondant to their bees at some point over the Winter months, maybe your bees seem to just munch through all the food stores you give them as quickly as possible (another reason for considering near-native or native bees as they tend to be more frugal) or perhaps you just got caught out with the amount of food or the length of Winter the bees have had. Either way, adding fondant is a simple process of mostly lifting the lid and adding a block of soft sugar fondant to the bees and replacing the roof. But what about Pollen Substitute? Why feed it, when should you feed it, what does it do and should you bother? Why Pollen Substitute at all? Stepping back to basics for a brief moment, most beekeepers know that honeybees collect nectar as a carbohydrate and pollen as a protein and it is this protein early in the season that helps the colony launch itself out of Winter and into that very important growth phase through Spring. In order to produce eggs the queen is going to need protein and for the workers to produce brood food for the ever-expanding number of larvae they also need protein, but that doesn't mean you should rush out and buy a sack of pollen substitute or start mixing your own concoction, it just might not be necessary. I've often explained to beginner beekeepers who contact me or attend my courses, with all things that you do in beekeeping there should be a reason, don't just launch into doing something because you read about someone (like me!) doing it or some old timer in the bee club was talking about what he was doing. Think through your beekeeping plans and have a plan of action to follow, have a purpose for everything you do in beekeeping So, back to the Pollen Substitute, during early Winter you will see you bees out foraging perhaps on ivy, grabbing as much pollen as possible, storing this pollen gives the bees much needed protein for the long Winter period but also for the late Winter and early Spring period as they gradually start to build up again. If you're lucky you will have early Spring flowering plants and trees that will provide a source of pollen for them. I am very fortunate that here in Norfolk, UK we have at most of our apiaries a range of plants such as snowdrops, crocus, hellebores and many others that provide a much-needed injection of pollen. Everything really starts to kick in around early to mid-March when the Willow starts to flower and this is the main source of pollen that our bees have to forage. When to Feed Pollen Substitute Where I have chosen colonies that I want to be roaring away as early as possible I will give a light syrup stimulatory feed in early March and then, having encouraged the queen to increase her egg laying the bees are going to want more pollen and so I follow this light feed with the pollen Substitute. Timing will vary depending on where you are and how your season is unfolding but don't be tempted to feed syrup too early, it will simply act as a heat sink and draw away warmth from the brood nest. Here then is the dilemma and also the question fo