re excess pollen stored in frames, I frequently remove these from hives
where they are limiting laying space for the queen.  The frames are frozen
to kill wax moth and then stored until I have a swarm to feed or there is a
shortage in the hives.  The amount of pollen used varies with the amount of
brood raised but on pollen rich sources the amount coming in can choke the
frames.
 
My hives normally retreat into the bottom brood box over winter, leaving a
full depth super above.  As the weather warms up,they raid the stores and
transfer down to where the brood is being raised.
 
Betty McAdam
 
>I need some help and suggestions on a particular problem I have with a
>couple of my hives.  Some of my hives have a very large amount (6 to 10
>frames) of frames with pollen, mostly in the lower brood chamber (I use two
>standard brood chambers all year round).  In years past, as the bees moved
>up, these pollen frames were particularly susceptible to becoming moldy -
>and occasionally the pollen gets so hard that it has to be cleaned out and
>thrown away.  There is very little honey stored in these pollen frames, and
>no brood.  Basically, these frames seem to be of little use for the bees in
>getting thru the winter.  I need some suggestions on how to stop these
>pollen frames from becoming a moldy nightmare by next spring (should I
>remove them and "store" them somehow and put them back in the spring?), and
>depending on those answers, what should I do with a double brood chamber
>hive that essentially is using just the upper chamber for brood and honey
>storage at this time of the year.  I am in western Oregon, just southwest of
>Portland.  Our weather is mostly rainy in the winter and in the 40 degree
>Fahrenheit range.  We get freezing weather a couple weeks worth.
>
>Thanks in advance for your help.
>
>Rick Grossman
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