Surviving Winter on only Pollen

[montauk170]

Can a colony survive winter with only pollen and no honey?

[FRAMEshift]

Could you survive on just protein and fat?  No, you need carbs too.   And bees don't have adult repair mechanisms so they need less protein and more carb compared to a human.  Bees need honey to power their wing muscles, which they use to generate heat.  Without honey, they would die of cold.

Why, do your bees have only pollen?

[montauk170]

I just removed an external colony from a cedar tree and they only had pollen, not much of it either.

[Culley]

External meaning they were out in the open? How many bees were there, and were there any eggs?

[FRAMEshift]

I just removed an external colony from a cedar tree and they only had pollen, not much of it either.

You are in the SF area, right?  No way those bees will survive the winter with external comb.  They are foraging for nectar sources now, but I think they would need significant stores of honey for winter where you are.

[greenbtree]

My first cutout had almost zero honey.  They are sure packing it away now though.  I checked my son's best hive yesterday that was booming (and had honey) earlier in the year and they have zero honey and almost no brood.  Another cutout I did for a friend in Ohio beginning of August was the same way.  They wanted to keep the bees as they have a fruit orchard so I moved them into a hive for them and left them with instructions and equipment to feed, feed, feed and cross their fingers.  Sometimes you just have to scratch your head in puzzlement.

JC

[montauk170]

External colony that built combs attached to a branch. As you can see from my blog, this colony is pretty strong and in good numbers. Nice looking queen too. Just no honey, yet.

Yes, SF area. We only need about 30 to 40 lbs of honey stores for them to make it through winter unless it's one of those weird long freezing years.

Removed from the Cedar tree: http://losaltoshoneybees.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/external-bee-colony-rescued-in-los-altos-sunshine/

Cutout at home: http://losaltoshoneybees.wordpress.com/2010/09/04/los-altos-sunshine-bee-colony-moved-into-their-new-home-cutout-complete/

[Culley]

Nice pics mate.  :)
Are you going to feed them some honey or sugar?? They might die or abscond  :(
Have you had a chance to observe the flying bees?

[montauk170]

Thanks. Yes, have been watching them closely. They are doing well. Much activity in front of the hive and bringing in lots of pollen. Still haven't seen any honey yet. Guess I'll start feeding them honey that I've collected from other cutouts.

[Michael Bush]

No.  They cannot.

[Culley]

Do you have any other colonies, and if so, are they bringing in any nectar?