Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Or
, more expensively, honey and icing sugar mixed to a stiff paste. This is more difficult
to maintain as a firm mixture.
Pollen substitute
When used at the right time, pollen substitutes can be a vital supplement for colonies.
Start feeding them about 4 to 5 weeks before brood rearing commences, and keep
feeding until natural pollen is plentiful:
1 part sodium caseinate (a readily available dairy derivative)
2 parts dried
non-active
yeast.
Sugar syrup to make a stiff paste (ensure that the sugar syrup is not fermenting,
otherwise the patties will blow up)
Combine in a cake mixer or a commercial baker's mixer if large quantities are being
made. Fill small paper bags with the mix and, when you give them to the bees, open the
upper side of the pattie bag.
Note
: avoid the use of soya protein in bee feed. I once read some research that said it
has a deleterious effect on the queen's ovarioles. The trouble is, I can't find that research
again.
Sugar syrup will ferment very readily if wild yeast enters it or if the baker's yeast is
not killed off following inversion. To kill sugar-tolerant yeasts in syrup, either use the
syrup immediately or, if you need to store it, make sure you kill off the yeasts using the
temperatures and times shown in Table 6.
