Why Feed Pollen Supplements?

It’s a fair question!

Are pollen supplements actually necessary? Why should you feed pollen supplements at all? Don’t the bees gather pollen themselves? Honey or sugar syrup provides the carbohydrates in a bee’s diet (see “Why Feed Syrup?”) and pollen or pollen supplements are their protein. They must have sufficient quantities of each to raise brood and survive as a hive. We can also use food to encourage hives to grow faster and stay healthier during dearth periods of the year. This is especially true with pollen subs. I recommend primarily using purchased, pre made pollen patties. I don’t recommend making homemade patties unless you're using a product made for it such as Global dry powder mix. If you buy dry pollen powder like Ultra Bee, and want to area feed, simply place the dry powder in a container such as a plastic coffee can with the lid partially cut open so the bees can gain access, yet the pollen won't get rained on. 

Photo(s) Credit: Phyllis Stroud

OK, now to finally answer the question, “Why feed pollen supplements?" If you have a strong, year-round, multi source pollen flow, you don’t need to supplement. Chances are (unless you live in the tropics) this is not the case for you. Major summer droughts, freezes, winter, and more prevent the quantity and quality of natural pollen needed. 

We feed pollen supplements to accomplish three primary goals: 

1. To help our bees rear healthy bees going into the winter by ensuring they have all the nutrients needed as they rear brood by feeding two to three months before the first freeze. In essence, during the late summer and early fall workers rear a different kind of bee—a “winter bee”— that is raised to live much longer than summer bees. These winter bees need a very complete diet to build up the fat stores and immune system needed to survive the winter. A poor pollen flow or a single-source pollen that isn’t nutritionally sufficient (think eating nothing but pizza) won’t provide the protein sufficient to raise healthy winter bees. 
2. To extend brood rearing. By feeding pollen substitute approximately a month after the first freeze, and two weeks before your first pollen-producing plants bloom in the spring, you can help the bees rear brood later and longer than normal. This helps increase the hives population, which is always a good thing! 
3. To prevent nutritional deficits during pollen dearth. I alluded to this in the first goal, but if you have a hot, dry summer or a late spring freeze, and thus little to no pollen producing plants, your hive can begin to starve nutritionally if sufficient pollen and pollen variety are not present. When this happens, the bees begin to cannibalize the brood, which dramatically reduces the health and population of the hive. Feeding pollen supplements and syrup during dearth can save your hive!