UltraBee® Patties - Bulk pack - 2100 lb (951.3 kg)

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 out while pollen is coming in 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. On a pallet that mistake multiplies across the whole apiary: before breaking into it, check the frames in a couple of yards and confirm no pollen is arriving.

02 · COMPOSITION

A pollen substitute, not pollen

On a plant-protein base it supplies 15% crude protein, with a complete amino acid profile, vitamins, lipids, minerals, probiotics and essential oils of lemongrass and spearmint — hence the faintly citrus note and the far-from-sweet taste. It carries no natural pollen and no animal by-products: no health risk from pollen of unknown origin, but none of the variety of fresh pollen either, so treat it as protein support, not a complete diet. If you are comparing against an older bag: the maker reformulated the product and earlier batches were printed with a different figure; the current one is 15%.

03 · DOSE AND COVERAGE

How many colonies a pallet actually feeds

The pallet holds 2,100 patties of 454 g. At 1-3 patties per colony depending on strength, that is 700 to 2,100 colonies in a single round: run the numbers against your own rate before ordering. They go on the top bars under the crown board, centred directly above the cluster, and there is no need to peel the paper off: they eat through it. On double brood, they go 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 they will not fit 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. If they are not against the cluster, they will not touch them.

04 · STORAGE

The hard part of a pallet is not buying it, it is storing it

The patty keeps at 22 °C or below, resealed and out of direct sunlight; once a patty is opened, use it within 72 hours: the fresher and softer it is, the more readily they take it. It keeps better in the fridge or freezer — but 951.3 kg will not fit in any cold room. That is the sum to do before buying: a shed that goes over 30 °C in August degrades the whole pallet. Below a season or two of use, the small format is better.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Sold as a full pallet, not by the unit: it arrives palletised at 951.3 kg, so plan how to unload it and where it will sit under cover and cool on arrival.