But you brought it up in the first place. It was never an issue and Randy
only asked you to substantiate it, which, so far, has not happened. On this
list, making a comment like that will always result in a request to back it up.

Hi all

I was reading about comb building and stumbled on the assertion by Randall Hepburn that bees need pollen to make comb, which I repeated because I figured he knew more than me. I never really thought about it before. I think the short answer is that bees need pollen to do everything, though they can function without it for periods. Probably they deplete body tissues when they do. It was thought that bees could not initiate brood rearing in spring without ample stored pollen but this has been found to be not true. On the other hand, for brood rearing to get into full swing, pollen or some protein source is needed. 

Based on Hepburn's work, it seems as if comb building is the same. The glands that produce wax and the glands that produce larval food require protein to develop properly, and normally this comes from pollen. Whether this can continue without pollen for periods of time, seems to me to be a fine point.  Initially the question was about feeding syrup at a time when natural food supplies are not abundant and the assertion was that bees could make comb from syrup. Obviously, they don't make it if they don't need it but if syrup or nectar is coming in, they build comb so they can store it. Also, to expand the brood nest. 

But presumably pollen and nectar will be available to them as well, we are not going to be raising bees on syrup alone. I believe that if one tried to build up colonies on syrup with no protein source available, the bees would deplete their internal reserves and the colony would fail. In the end, it seems clear that one could provide protein substitutes at the same time as feeding syrup and not need to worry about it. Alternatively, wait until good weather (in this region=May) to install packages when the natural food sources are adequate, which is what I usually do.

Pete B

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