I know they take honey from other comb after a cutout or from comb whats been cleaned out of the hive. But, do the bees clean out the pollen too?
your friend,
john
Quote from: johnnybigfish on June 29, 2008, 07:49:54 PM
I know they take honey from other comb after a cutout or from comb whats been cleaned out of the hive. But, do the bees clean out the pollen too?
your friend,
john
Usually not, but sometimes yes. It depands on resources available. Bees will always accept honey and nector even if they have to steal it. Pollen, on the other hand, is preferred fresh, so unless there is no current source of pollen the bees will ignore the pollen and bee bread when robbing a hive or cleaning out an extracted super.
It is a good practice to freeze a few frames of mostly pollen in the fall and unthaw and feed it back in February--much better than inviting SHB into your hives by feeding patties and still gives the bees the necessary food (along with the simple syrup) to build up quickly in early spring.
Thanx Brian!
What a great idea about saving the pollen for spring!
your friend,
john