Collecting Pollen

[Ben Framed]

Do any of you collect pollen for personal use or for the purpose of sales?

What would you consider to be a good estimated average amount by weight of pollen collected per hive per season?

Thanks...

[Oldbeavo]

Pollen collection = 3 nevers
Never do
Never will
Never have any pollen left in hive in winter.
May be the bees have a black market and are selling it.

[The15thMember]

I got a pollen trap for Christmas last year, and I had it on a hive over the summer.  I don't know the poundage, but I got maybe 8-10 pints of pollen over the summer.  We still have a jar in the freezer for our own use, and my sister fed the rest as a supplement to her goats.  I'm planning on using the trap again this year.  Where I live we almost never have a pollen dearth, so the bees have plenty to spare.     

[Oldbeavo]

What would have happened if the 8-10 pints of pollen went into the hive?

[NigelP]

Depending on the bees you could end up with pollen clogged frames......I always do.
Like different climates different areas have differing amounts of pollen available for the bees. Where I am we are pollen rich whereas 30 miles away in a heavy agricultural area pollen is in short supply.

[Oldbeavo]

Are so called pollen clogged frames a problem to the bees, or is the amount of pollen in the frames considered a problem by people?
i am unsure if human logic and bees mesh very well.
Our bees will move pollen through the QX and store it in the super. Eventually over the season the pollen is used up

[The15thMember]

Depending on the bees you could end up with pollen clogged frames......I always do.
Like different climates different areas have differing amounts of pollen available for the bees. Where I am we are pollen rich whereas 30 miles away in a heavy agricultural area pollen is in short supply.

Are so called pollen clogged frames a problem to the bees, or is the amount of pollen in the frames considered a problem by people?
i am unsure if human logic and bees mesh very well.
Our bees will move pollen through the QX and store it in the super. Eventually over the season the pollen is used up

I have only tried the pollen trap one season, so I don't have any real data to go on yet.  The truth is the hive I was trapping the pollen from last year did abscond in the fall, but I'm pretty sure that was due to mites, because they still had a full frame or two of pollen in the hive, and their mite numbers were really high.  I was about to treat them, but they left before I could.    My bees always have more than enough pollen to make it through to spring build-up.  I have hives that have upwards of 4 frames of pollen over the summer.  I feel like if for a few months out of the year they only bring in half of what they normally do or they feel like they have to take a few more pollen gathering trips, it's not that big of a blow to them, and I like having pollen around the house for my own use.  It's no different than harvesting honey.  As long as I leave the bees enough, I don't see the harm.   

[Ben Framed]

I appreciate that our members are willing to discuss, sometimes even debate a subject which may come up from time to time, subjects which may be looked upon with different points of view, this being one.... I am of the opinion the more points of view, the merrier!   I also appreciate that our members seek to discuss such matters respectfully with one another. Thank you for your comments and points of view. Good Stuff!

Allow me to add a little more spin to this..
As we collect pollen there is a certain amount of pollen which 'will' make it past the pollen collection area of the trap, allowing the bees to keep the rest.
With that being the case; a question. Will the bees not send out more pollen gathers into the fields, gathering pollen until the hive has reached a satisfactory amount of pollen required for the needs of the hive?

'If so' we will have been privileged to acquire the excess amount which was collected in the pollen traps for ourselves, just as we collect 'excessive amounts of honey', 'for ourselves'?

I do not know; but if this is the case no doubt the 'extra pollen collectors'/'worker bees' required, could arguably have spent the time and energy for collecting pollen, collecting nectar instead? 'If this is so', we may be sacrificing nectar, for more pollen collection? Again, I do not know.

Our bees will move pollen through the QX and store it in the super. Eventually over the season the pollen is used up

I do not wish to get off track of this discussion, (debate) but please allow a quick question. Oldbeavo do you find this happening regularly or randomly, pollen which has been moved through the QX and stored it in the super?  If regularly, how do you handle these frames?  To clarify the question; Do you extract honey from these frames of mixed pollen and honey or leave the entire mixed frame of pollen and honey to the bees? (both honey along with the stored pollen)..

Phillip

[Ben Framed]

The15thMember

I feel like if for a few months out of the year they only bring in half of what they normally do or they feel like they have to take a few more pollen gathering trips, it's not that big of a blow to them, and I like having pollen around the house for my own use.  It's no different than harvesting honey.  As long as I leave the bees enough, I don't see the harm.   

Member this is what I am thinking too. But I may be wrong?

Phillip

[BeeMaster2]

Ben,
The nurse bees are the ones that determine what the field bees need to bring in. If you remove a lot of the incoming pollen, the nurse bees just keep requesting it until they get enough.
Jim Altmiller

[cao]

Just to throw another bit of info for the discussion.  It takes roughly a frame of pollen to raise a frame of bees.  So when you are looking at how much pollen is in a hive,  look at the frames full of brood and realize that they need an equal amount of pollen to feed them.  The bees are constantly bringing in pollen to keep those hungry mouths fed.

[NigelP]

Are so called pollen clogged frames a problem to the bees, or is the amount of pollen in the frames considered a problem by people?
i am unsure if human logic and bees mesh very well.
Our bees will move pollen through the QX and store it in the super. Eventually over the season the pollen is used up

Yes they are a problem to the bees, if I don't remove them the queen has no room to lay eggs. They do however appreciate them when I add them back early spring when they have no  pollen to forage upon.

[Oldbeavo]

Hi Ben

This frame has been uncapped ready for the extractor
As we deal in boxes of honey and not individual frames, so it is all extracted and some lucky hive will get stickies plus pollen.
The pollen stays in the cells during extraction, some may get into the honey from the cappings press.
The dark pollen is actually dark purple from a plant called Pattersons Curse.
Putting pollen up is how the bees deal with a lot of pollen,

[Michael Bush]

I collect it mostly to feed the bees in a failed fall flow.

[TheHoneyPump]

Pollen in the hive => brood => bees
Consider trapping pollen a temporary short time activity. Not like putting supers on waiting for them to fill. The advice I can give is use pollen traps sparingly and short spurts. For a 2-3 days and remove them or flip the on/off gates that some traps styles have. Also it is best to avoid feeding your bees what has been trapped. Why? ..
We trap alot of pollen for sale for both human and for animal feed.  I am talking thousands of pounds.  Observations to share are that the hives that have traps on for long periods suffer at least 30% less honey production due to the lower bee populations and vitality. Pollen deficient means smaller brood nests means fewer bees and wimpy bees.
Also, what we would consider a normal rate of quenlessness over the bee-season skyrockets on the trap hives. Reason being is hives that would be going through what is usually a seamless natural supercedure, or swarm and recovery, will fail as the queens get stuck in the traps and perish.
So .. trapping pollen stunts the hive and may actually cause it to fail. Look at pollen trap as a temporary tool used for a specific purpose for a short time. Not as a piece of hive equipment that is placed and left on.
On feeding; be aware that the traps will also gather hive debris from housecleaning, and attracts insect scavengers such as pollen mites, ants, and beetles. If the bee cannot carry the trash all the way through the screens the debris ends up in the trap.  Of specific concern are pathogenic laden debris such as chalk brood carcass and other such things from brood hygiene activity.  What that means is when you gather from that pollen trap and use it to feed your bees those diseases are easily spread to other colonies. In this way a single trap colony can infect the entire apiary. If you are going to store and/or feed the pollen, then it absolutely must be sterile by irradiated and deep frozen before doing so. Biosecurity is crucial to the health of the apiary and trapped pollen needs to be viewed as a contaminant not as a beekeeping resource. The hard earned lessons of experience has taught us to never feed trapped pollen to our bees. The risk of cascading outbreaks and the costs of recovery are far too high.  If the bees need supplement, we feed ultra-bee or bee-pro or grab a natural frame packed with pollen taken from a nearby strong healthy hive.
So .. sure, trap some pollen for you to eat and to boost the feed vitamins content for your other farm livestock. However it is best to not trap pollen with the intention of using it on your bees. IMHO

Hope all of that helps, in some way.

[Joyspencer]

Can someone post a model or link to a good bee pollen trap?

[The15thMember]

Can someone post a model or link to a good bee pollen trap?

I have this one: https://www.betterbee.com/pollen-collection/ptrapb-bot-mount-pollen-trap.asp#:~:text=The%20Sundance%20Bottom%20Mounted%20Pollen,harvested%20without%20opening%20the%20hive.

The Sundance is probably the most popular pollen trap.  It also comes in a bottom mount with a side drawer and a top mount. 

[Ben Framed]

Pollen in the hive => brood => bees
Consider trapping pollen a temporary short time activity. Not like putting supers on waiting for them to fill. The advice I can give is use pollen traps sparingly and short spurts. For a 2-3 days and remove them or flip the on/off gates that some traps styles have. Also it is best to avoid feeding your bees what has been trapped. Why? ..
We trap alot of pollen for sale for both human and for animal feed.  I am talking thousands of pounds.  Observations to share are that the hives that have traps on for long periods suffer at least 30% less honey production due to the lower bee populations and vitality. Pollen deficient means smaller brood nests means fewer bees and wimpy bees.
Also, what we would consider a normal rate of quenlessness over the bee-season skyrockets on the trap hives. Reason being is hives that would be going through what is usually a seamless natural supercedure, or swarm and recovery, will fail as the queens get stuck in the traps and perish.
So .. trapping pollen stunts the hive and may actually cause it to fail. Look at pollen trap as a temporary tool used for a specific purpose for a short time. Not as a piece of hive equipment that is placed and left on.
On feeding; be aware that the traps will also gather hive debris from housecleaning, and attracts insect scavengers such as pollen mites, ants, and beetles. If the bee cannot carry the trash all the way through the screens the debris ends up in the trap.  Of specific concern are pathogenic laden debris such as chalk brood carcass and other such things from brood hygiene activity.  What that means is when you gather from that pollen trap and use it to feed your bees those diseases are easily spread to other colonies. In this way a single trap colony can infect the entire apiary. If you are going to store and/or feed the pollen, then it absolutely must be sterile by irradiated and deep frozen before doing so. Biosecurity is crucial to the health of the apiary and trapped pollen needs to be viewed as a contaminant not as a beekeeping resource. The hard earned lessons of experience has taught us to never feed trapped pollen to our bees. The risk of cascading outbreaks and the costs of recovery are far too high.  If the bees need supplement, we feed ultra-bee or bee-pro or grab a natural frame packed with pollen taken from a nearby strong healthy hive.
So .. sure, trap some pollen for you to eat and to boost the feed vitamins content for your other farm livestock. However it is best to not trap pollen with the intention of using it on your bees. IMHO

Hope all of that helps, in some way.

Once again, thank you HoneyPump. Thanks to you all.

Phillip