Ultra Bee® Patties 1lb

01 · WHEN TO USE IT

Timing decides whether they eat it or it goes mouldy

Uptake has little to do with the patty and everything to do with the pollen flow. In a dearth, at the end of winter or with the bees shut in by rain, they go through it. Put it on while real pollen is arriving and they ignore it: it sits on the top bars for weeks, skins over and ends up mouldy or leaving residue to scrape off. That is why it pays to cut it in half and feed it in two goes rather than laying a whole one down and forgetting it — check a week later and decide whether to top up.

02 · COMPOSITION

A pollen substitute, not pollen

On a plant-protein base it supplies 15% crude protein, along with vitamins, minerals, probiotics and essential oils of lemongrass and spearmint — hence the faintly citrus note and why it tastes far less sweet than fondant. It carries no natural pollen and no animal by-products, and that has a practical side: it cannot bring in the health risk that pollen of unknown origin sometimes does. In exchange it lacks the variety of fresh pollen, so treat it as protein support rather than a complete diet.

03 · PLACEMENT

On the top bars, right over the cluster

There is no need to peel the paper off: they eat through it. Use 1 to 3 patties per colony, laid on the top bars under the crown board, always in the centre, directly above the cluster. On a double-brood colony, put them on the top bars of the lower box. In a horizontal hive, open a gap between the middle frames. What does not work is leaving it at one end or on top of the crown board: if it is not against the cluster, they will not touch it.

04 · STORAGE

Resealed, out of the sun and below 22 °C

Reseal the bag and keep it at 22 °C or below, away from direct sunlight. It takes the fridge or the freezer, and frozen is where the protein holds up best. The maker recommends using it within 18-24 months of the manufacturing date. In summer, a patty left in the shed or the van softens and ferments before you use it.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Sold individually: what arrives is a single 454 g patty wrapped in its own paper, with no separate packaging. Order as many as the colonies you plan to feed.