Ultra Bee® Patties 1lb

01 · WHEN TO USE IT

Timing decides whether they eat it or you lose it

Whether they eat it depends on it being soft and right up against the cluster; whether it does any good depends on no pollen coming in. In a dearth, in late summer and autumn while the winter bees are being raised, 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 it is money down the drain: either it sits on the top bars for weeks, drying out and leaving residue to scrape off, or they take the sugar and throw the flour out of the entrance. Just because it disappears does not mean it was needed. 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. A week later, open up and check two things: whether there is still no pollen coming in, and how much jelly the youngest larvae have. If they are short and still no pollen is coming in, top up; the patty going down tells you nothing by itself.

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 between the two boxes, on the top bars of the lower one, so the cluster wraps round them from above and below; if the cluster has moved up into the top box, the patties follow. If there is no room under the crown board, a feeding eke or a 4 cm rim makes room. Whatever dries out away from the cluster is removed and replaced. 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 the light; it keeps better in the fridge or the freezer. Once a patty is opened, use it within 72 hours: the fresher and softer it is, the more readily they take it. 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. To work out how many you need: a strong colony with no pollen in the field finishes a patty in one to two weeks, so an autumn or late-winter programme means several patties per colony, not one.