Hi everyone,
I'm interested to know what pollen/protein cake recipes any of you guys have used, and how succesful they have been. I don't have any spare pollen at the moment, and don't want to risk contaminating my hive with purhased pollen. Therefore, I'm particularly interested in recipes that the bees accept without pollen.
I would also like to know if anyone has used more than one type of sugar in their sugar syrup, ie. glucose/sucrose/fructose, to try and achieve a broader range of carbohydrates, more similar to those provided in nectar/honey.
Thanks eveyone.
I have yet to see any recipe that does not have a fair amount of pollen (25-30%) be readily accepted by bees.
Your best bet would be to buy commercial pollen cakes or patties. Most of these use irradiated pollen to eliminate the transfer of diseases.
Mine is simple. Pollen or pollen dust fed dry in an empty hive so it won't get rained on. If I don't have enough then I mix it half and half with whole soy bean flour.