> In times of dearth and bad drought, etc.........will hives survive better on lots of honey and some pollen, or lots of pollen and some honey, and/or just packed honey/pollen frames? Bees need both in the long term. They can live for quite a while on honey without pollen, but not for long on pollen without honey. If they are raising brood, bees need both pollen and honey. If they are just waiting for the brooding season, they need much less pollen. It is the young bees of a specific age that eat pollen, I have heard, but older bees must also if they are called upon to raise brood, I would think. Pollen should be covered by honey for longest storage, but open pollen frames are OK, too. allen http://www.honeybeeworld.com --- Food, one assumes, provides nourishment; but Americans eat it fully aware that small amounts of poison have been added to improve its appearance and delay its putrefaction. -- John Cage **************************************************** * General Information About BEE-L is available at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm * ****************************************************