I am in no way an expert on honey bee nutrition. But in the past few years—especially since the advent of colony collapse disorder—many knowledgeable people have been studying bee nutrition under the theory that healthier bees are better able to withstand the onslaught of diseases and environmental stresses that face them. In my opinion this is an excellent line of inquiry. Living things in general do better when they are well fed.
Like most animals, honey bees need a variety of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, and minerals for optimum health. In nature, bees get the majority of their carbohydrates from nectar (honey) and the other components come mostly from pollen. Pollens vary in their nutritional composition, but since honey bees normally consume many different types of pollen, they are able to meet their nutritional requirements.
Trouble can occur in the hive at the end of winter when food stored the past summer is largely depleted. For this reason, beekeepers often feed pollen substitutes in the early spring. Since a full complement of amino acids (the substances that make up protein) is required to produce brood, feeding pollen substitutes in spring can help colonies get off to a good start.
Many companies now produce pollen substitutes that can be made into patties, mixed with syrup, or fed dry. Each product has been designed with a slightly different profile of the essential nutrients, but I am in no position to say which is best. I would probably trust any of the commercial preparations.
In the past, I have always fed pollen patties in the early spring and, in general, they have been poorly received. Usually they were only partly eaten before they dried into hockey pucks and I tossed them out. This year, in place of pollen patties, I decided to experiment with making hard candy enriched with pollen substitute.
The first time I put the pollen-enriched cakes in the hives I also put in some leftover plain candy cakes—I just wanted to use them up. So in each hive I put one plain candy cake and one candy cake fortified with pollen substitute. A week later when I checked the hives, I was amazed to find the pollen-fortified cakes gone and the plain ones still there. Obviously, there was something in there the bees wanted.
I have repeated this three times in the last month. My bees just love the stuff and I’m very curious to see how they do as spring approaches.
Hard candy, of course, is not something to use with a new package of bees. Although I’m not starting any new colonies this year, if I were, I would try one of the liquid amino boosters in sugar syrup along with Honey-B-Healthy. In the past I’ve used only Honey-B-Healthy and syrup, but after watching my bees munch down the pollen substitute, I’m pretty much sold on the idea.
I’m very interested to see how these overwintered colonies compare to those I’ve overwintered in the past. I will also be on the lookout for the results of controlled experiments where these “designer diets” were used. It is all fascinating.
Rusty
Rusty, I have been considering making fondant and mixing it with either pollen or pollen substitute. I have a few questions that I have looked for the answers for but can’t seem to find…
I know pollen is supposed to be better in general, but does it have the essential nutrients in it that the pollen substitutes claim to have?
When I do this, how much pollen substitute did you add to the fondant?
Also, would feeding them the pollen/substitute possibly stimulate increased brood raising, thereby actually decreasing stores because of more mouths to feed?
By the way, my quilts that I built based on your design seem to be working GREAT!! Thanks again for the articles on this…
Joel
Joel,
Pollen will have all the nutrients the bees need as long as it comes from mixed sources. You can think of pollen like vegetables: as long as you eat a variety of veggies you can get all the nutrients you need. Eat only one or two and you’re going to get into trouble. Pollen substitute is much like a multi-vitamin; the manufacturers try to get all the nutrients in there. Still, there’s nothing like the real thing for good bee health.
I would use the same recipes I have posted for hard candy, but I would cook the candy only to the fondant stage instead of the hard candy stage. You’ll see the recipes under the tab “Bee Nutrition” at the top, then “Feeding Bees,” then go down to “Hard Candy.” There are two recipes; I would go for 4% protein.
The answer to your third question is, yes, the pollen substitute will stimulate brood rearing. For this reason I usually don’t start feeding a protein supplement until early spring. Here on the coast, I start them on pollen in late February.
I’m glad to hear your moisture quilts are working out. I think they are the greatest thing. Thanks!
We use one product as a supplement in situation when we need to add syrup and also when we prepare our bees for winter. This product is combination amino acids and vitamins for use as supportive
maintenance therapy and prevention in conditions of stress and diseases and to improve
fertility and performance.
Question is what do you think about that.
Daki,
I think supplements are a good idea, especially if you are short of pollen at spring build-up. I have used Amino-B Booster, Bee Pro, and MegaBee–all with good results.
Rusty . . . I have several hives that have a large population of bees . . . I see lots of drones . . . which means they may be thinking about swarming . . . I’ve taken candy boards off last week of February . . . now feeding 1:1 sugar syrup in Kelley hive top feeders. I added a deep brood box to existing 1 deep and 1 medium box last week. Bees have been bringing in lots of pollen for the last 3 weeks from elm and maple trees as well as from various blooming weeds.
I added Honey-B-Healthy (1 tsp/qt) to sugar syrup. Queen is active laying eggs. Should I also feed a liquid amino booster with sugar syrup until the honey flow comes in (usually May 1 for middle Tennessee)?
This year everything seems to be 2-3 weeks in advance of the norm. Plum and pear trees are blooming now. Apple trees still dormant. I had an older beekeeper to tell me that I didn’t need to feed the amino booster since there were a lot of different sources of pollen available to the bees and they would get what they needed. Is the amino booster made from pollen collected from bees? If so, do I run the low risk of bring in disease to my bees? I’m geared up for the swarm to occur. If they swarm I guess that hive will have it out of their system and they can get down to honey business.
Herb,
Drones signal the beginning of swarm season, but a large population of drones doesn’t mean a particular hive is about to swarm . . . it just means you have a lot of drones. Your beekeeper friend is correct: if the bees have many pollen sources they will get all the amino acids they need. Amino boosters are more important if pollen is lacking, if all the available pollen comes from one source, or if it is too cold and/or wet for the bees to forage. However, the amino boosters on the market are not made from bee collected pollen and they will not transmit disease to your bees–they are perfectly safe to use.
Amino acids are not found in nectar, only in pollen. Although traces of amino acids may sometimes be found in nectar, it is more or less a containment rather than a source.
RUSTY… Thanks!