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