Hi everybody,
Just wondering - do bees cap their pollen stores? I opened my hive up a week ago and was having a good look through but i didnt see many of the typical pollen deposits. If they do cap it how does its appearance differ to that of honey or brood?
I have not seen that they cap pollen but they store honey above pollen and then cap it. When I uncap the sidemost frames in autumn, there is often big stores of pollen.
So they will put some pollen in the base of the cell and then overlay it with honey and cap it?
I have not seen caps on any pollen in my hives. Looks to me like they add some nectar to bind it and leave it open.
Isn't that (pollen with nectar on top) "Bee Bread"? <--- first year Beek here just asking.
yes
No, they don't cap pollen. For some reason they only fill the pollen pots half full. I have seen where they put honey over the pollen and then cap that...messes up the honey a bit :roll:. That usually only happens when they start raising brood in a super and then move down before consuming all of the pollen.
Some of my combs are jammed packed with pollen. They are even heavier than a comb full of honey. I've never seen pollen capped, but I'm only heading into my 2nd season :)