October is for dry pollen feeding, too!


As the days grow cooler, the flowers are slowly disappearing from the landscape along with the pollen sources.
Feeding a dry pollen at this time gives the bees a little buffer going into winter. Right now I am open feeding Mega Bee and Latshaw’s Bag o’Bee Food. As you can see in the photos, the bees are dusting themselves nicely. This is a practice I have done for about 4 years now…feeding dry pollen substitute in the fall and spring.
For chubby bees in the winter, I place about ½ patty of pollen under the inner cover at the end of September and see how long it takes them to consume all of it. If it’s gone in a week, I will give the hive the other half to fatten them up. The extra fat stored in their bodies seems to help a lot.
Winter is coming early this year…

 

-Peggy

Peggy Garnes is a 15- year beekeeper, now raising and selling queens and nucs. She is the President of the Medina County Beekeepers Association, and the Advertising Manager for Bee Culture Magazine.

4 Comments

  • Maine-ly Bees says:

    Hi, I would really be interested in more photos and details of your yellow pollen feeder in the first photo.

    Thank you. David

    • Peggy says:

      As time permits this winter, I will post more pics and how we made these feeders. My husband and I made about 25 of these and used most of them for the local bee club’s door prizes. Great project for spring or fall!

    • peggy says:

      Hi David,
      4 in pvc pipe cut to desired length, 4 in end cap and 4 in diverter(?) glued together with pvc glue. I spray painted the unit with plastic approved outdoor spray paint and hung it with eye hooks. Still in the trees as of 2-2014! We have 3 units on 5 acres of property. Hope this helps! Peggy

  • Brian says:

    I love this idea! I lost a few of my hives last winter, and I think I could have prevented this with a little dry pollen feeding. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with the world!

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