This topic was discussed at length in 1960, in the magazine Bee World. At the time it was common to restock hives every spring, not overwinter them.

> In the more northerly areas of the North American prairies the uncertainty of winter survival of honeybee colonies has led to the practice of killing them off in the fall and restocking the following spring with packages from more favourable areas. At the time of killing, colonies may contain !-5 lb. of mature capped brood. This obviously has nutritional value; it is a nuisance where it is and has to be removed, either by the bees or by the beekeeper.

> About 130 tons of bee brood, mainly pupae, goes to waste in the Canadian prairie provinces every year. This is shown to be a valuable human food, with up to 18% protein, 119 International Units of vitamin A and 7000 I.U. of vitamin D per gram. Methods of preservation and preparation were tested ; the baked product appealed most to women and the deep-fat fried product to men. Initial reluctance to eat these products proved easier to overcome than was expected.

B. Hocking & F. Matsumura (1960) Bee Brood as Food, Bee World, 41:5, 113-120, DOI: 10.1080/0005772X.1960.11096777

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