4% Pollen Patties for Bees | 10 lb | Quantity Options | 4% Protein Pollen Patty Food Supplement for Honey Bees

Global Patties 10 pack 1-pound patty with 4% pollen. Pollen patties should be fed in the spring before natural pollen is available. Feeding should start no earlier than one month before the first reliable spring pollen flow is expected. If you start earlier, 4% should be sufficient. 4% is also sufficient for fall feeding to help bees prepare for winter. In the spring, honey and pollen are converted for brood and young bees to replace the old, overwintered adults which are quickly nearing the end of their lives. Each developing bee needs a constant protein supply for almost six weeks in order to develop properly. If protein is lacking at any point during those six weeks, some brood will either fail to develop or become weaker, stunted adults. If they suffer from mite predation, the outlook is even worse. When protein is provided we soon see a good brood pattern. The best use of patties is to put on more patties than the bees will need and make sure the bees never come close to running out until the flowers are blooming and the weather is settled and you see an arc of fresh pollen around each patch of brood.

• 10 pack 1-pound patty with 4% pollen (recommended for extra early start or fall feeding). A great protein supplement for your beehive. Ingredients: soya flour, brewers yeast, sugar, water and pollen.
• Protein supplement patties ensure colony health, good build-up of brood and the production of large honey crops.
• Pollen patties offer bees a balanced diet when they are unable to forage due to weather, when they have a shortage of stored pollen, when there is a lack of variety in pollen sources, when they have competition from stronger hives, or when they are stressed by pesticides, mites and diseases.
• Easy to handle pollen patties come in a "paper sandwich" design. Simply place on top of frames over the center of the cluster with holes in the paper facing down so bees can easily access the patty. Strong colonies will chew up the paper quickly.
• The amount of pollen does not determine the nutritional or protein value, but in fact, the consumption rate. Depending on how strong your hives are and how fast you want the hive brood to build up, will determine what percentage you should be feeding. At 4% you will have a slower consumption rate, and a steady-build up. If you start feeding extra early then 4% would be sufficient for a steady-build up until natural pollen is available. In the Fall, 4% patties is also sufficient.