I make a pollen substitute of three parts soybean flour, one part
brewers yeast, and one part skim milk powder.  I add a few drops of fennel
oil which really helps the bees find it once they've started taking it in
(don't go chewing licorice anywhere on my farm!)  I feed it in large bowls
for a couple of days when the bees are making their first cleansing flights
in the spring, and then mix it in heavy syrup and make patties which I put
on the top bars.  I do not medicate it usually, and I am using it to boost
brood rearing for the short period between first cleansing flights here
(around the beginning of April) and the first major pollen sources (alder,
poplar and red maple usually around the third week in April).
 
        My question is this:  I can buy non-fat soybean flour for half the
price of full fat soy flour.  The bees will take down pollen substitute made
with either one.  What are the nutritional advantages of one over the other,
and does it make much difference given the short time that I am feeding
substitute?  I had always understood with extender patties that the fat
content slowed the consumption of them by the bees.  In this instance I
would like the bees to consume as much pollen substitute as possible, but I
think that the full fat flour is probably closer to the fat content of real
pollen.
 
        Stan Sandler  Milk and Honey Farm   Prince Edward Island  Canada