Honey bees need protein acquired from various sources of pollen to feed larvae. Pollen is the only available protein source for honey bees. Winter bees need pollen to build fat reserves, called vitellogenin, to survive during the winter and raise brood in late winter and spring. The health and survival of the entire colony is dependent on the vitellogenin reserves of the winter nurse bees.Without adequate amounts of pollen to feed larvae, the future bees that emerge may be smaller and not as healthy, caused by lack of nutrition during the development stage. Some areas of the country lack sufficient available pollen-producing plants, are overstocked with too many colonies, or the colonies are placed in monofloral situations during a pollination contract. With the lack of sufficient natural pollen for honey bees to collect, beekeepers are resorting to feeding pollen substitute in the spring to assist in colony buildup before the natural pollen is available.
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