Polllen traps

[mlewis48]

 I have a question or two about pollen traps. One of my repeat customers wants me to start collecting pollen to sell because I have a yard that is a mile from her home. I have searched the topic but can't find the answers that I am looking for. First, which trap would you say works the best? With the price of these units, how long before they payed for themselves? Our first flow is about to get under way so there should be plenty of pollen coming in. How do you clean and store the pollen? If anything, I could store and use it for my bees later when the drought hits us again. I would like to learn more on the topic, if any of you have a book or a web site that would be help me, please respond with the name of it.
                                     Thanks,
                                      Marc

[Michael Bush]

>First, which trap would you say works the best?

Sundance.  If you have a top entrance hive, the Sundance II is even better and cheaper.

> With the price of these units, how long before they payed for themselves?

I don't know.  I've never sold pollen, I just feed it to the bees.

>Our first flow is about to get under way so there should be plenty of pollen coming in. How do you clean and store the pollen?

With the Sundance, and especially the Sundance II the pollen is very clean to start with.  Probably no need to clean it.  Freeze it.

> If anything, I could store and use it for my bees later when the drought hits us again.

Exactly

> I would like to learn more on the topic, if any of you have a book or a web site that would be help me, please respond with the name of it.

Try a search.  I'm sure a lot of this has been discussed.

[Pond Creek Farm]

I like the idea of giving the bees early pollen to feed brood, and as MB recommends, I likely should do some research on how to do it.  I am curious, however, as to whether or not taking pollen from the bees sets them back at all.

[Brian D. Bray]

I like the idea of giving the bees early pollen to feed brood, and as MB recommends, I likely should do some research on how to do it.  I am curious, however, as to whether or not taking pollen from the bees sets them back at all.

When collecting pollen from a hive it is recommended to only do it periodically.  A continued harvesting of pollen from the same colony will seriously deprive if of sufficient pollen to develop adequate hive strength.  I would do no more than use a pollen collectoer a week or 2 on and a week or 2 off and moving it from hive to hive would be better.  That way each hive gets tapped but not enough to affect brood production.

[jdpro5010]

I used the sundance last year for collecting pollen.  I left it on for 10 or 12 wks straight and collected approx. 13lbs. of pollen.  I let them collect continously.  It took the hive two or three days to recover from the confusion of the trap so I felt it was too much stress on the hive to have them reorient every week or two.  This hive made it through the winter in O.K. shape.  It definitily sets the hive back some but when using it to feed your other hives I felt it was worth it and it is a viable hive for this year again.  Everybody seems to have a different opinion on how long or how much to trap but this is my real world exp. in my location.  The trap seems to only get about 1/2 the pollen coming into the hive and the hive just seems to send out more pollen collecters to make up for the difference which I believe is what Lloyd Spears (Sundance and Ross Round owner I believe) has said in the past also.  The pollen was extremely clean also.