I have put pollen sub on a variety of hives during the period May 1 to Sept 1 in NE Ohio. I have never seen a colony under any circumstance use that pollen sub to any measurable extent. I do have many rich pollen sources during that whole period, so perhaps interest in sub is driven by availability of real pollen? There is never a time during those months I can not see bees bringing in at least a half dozen different colored pollens.
Last summer I had one colony in August hauling old dried out pollen stored in frames out of the colony and dumping it on the landing board in large amounts. The stuff still tasted like pollen to me. That colony had no sub on it.
So, who are the commercial guys who use pollen sub in the summer and under what conditions? I could understand the need if there was no natural pollen.
Dick
" Any discovery made by the human mind can be explained in its essentials to the curious learner." Professor Benjamin Schumacher talking about teaching quantum mechanics to non scientists. "For every complex problem there is a solution which is simple, neat and wrong." H. L. Mencken
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