> Does anyone know if the current protein subs (amino acids) are in a less 
> usable form for the bees than real pollen and to what extent?

These questions are quite technical and that is why I broke down and bought 
some books.   Seems the answer is often. "It depends", but maybe I'll have 
some conclusions eventually.

We know that the major recommended bee diet items are fairly close to the 
required amino acid profile of bees, but as for availability, the effect of 
other ingredients, aging, etc., we are much less certain.  Although theory 
and analysis is a good staring point, most diets are evaluated on a 
cut-and-try basis.

The problem is that even then there are many confounding factors like what 
the bees have stored in the hive and their bodies, the size of the colony, 
the state of brood rearing, other incoming food, to mention only the most 
obvious.

Cholesterol, vitamins, lipids, etc are essential, of course, but they can be 
toxic in excess or if the correct forms are not provided. 

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