This message is based on 15 years of pollen trapping,
as a  h o b b y beekeeper never opeating more than 30
hives at one time--I now have 12--nor more than seven Stauffer pollen
traps--still using seven. BTW,
the best out there, for my money, having used 11 different
trap configurations, is that made by Stauffer of Penna.
 
IMHO, collecting pollen does not affect amount of surplus
honey harvested, if one is using the proper trap and knows
how to manipulate it. Here are the reasons:
 
(1) The bees collect nectar (okay, surplus "honey") in central Maryland
only during the honeyflow, that is, May 1 - June 1, when the black
locust and tulip poplar trees are in bloom.  Even tho on the hives,
the pollen traps are turned off during that time--not
removed, but turned off--if one uses that type of trap that sits
on the bottom board and has a sliding front member: by lowering it,
the bottom board entrance is closed off: the bees enter the hive
ABOVE the trap, thus keeping their pollen loads, by not forcing them
to go thru the stripper screens or whatever (I prefer traps w/
a punched-plate stripper, and NOT two offset screens).
 
(2) Obiter dicta: Remember, the bees are still carrying honey.
The pollen is carried into the hive on the bee's two hindmost
legs, a pellet each, whereas the nectar (potential honey) is
brought in via the honey stomach, whether the bees are collecting
pollen or not.
 
(3) "The proper trap?"  The Stauffer trap has  t h r e e  internal
beeways: one across the front and one each on the long sides,
whereas of the ten others I've seen or used have only  o n e:  the
opening
across the front. This severely restricts movement of the bees
into and out of the hive.
 
I rest my case.
Thanks for bearing with me.
 
Jack the Bman
 
 
**John Iannuzzi, Ph.D.
**38 years in apiculture
**12 hives of Italian honeybees
**At Historic Ellicott City, Maryland, 21042, U.S.A. (10 miles west of
   Baltimore, Maryland) [9772 Old Annapolis Rd - 410 730 5279]
**"Forsooth there is some good in things evil
   For bees extract sweetness from the weed" -- Bard of Avon
**Website: http://www.xmetric.com/honey
**Email: [log in to unmask] [1jan981031est]