> I think feeding is under the same game than varroa and nosema. Monitor, if need, apply, monitor again. The feedback loop is what is missing.

In some, if not most situations, feeding is insurance, and most people don't wait until after the house burns to buy insurance.  The problem with malnourished bees is that the overt symptoms lag the event and persist for a generation of more.

To add to the problems, obtaining supplement or the supplies in any amount requires research, ordering, transport and sometimes waiting for manufacture, then the time it takes to distribute the feed.  That makes timely response to unexpected shortage of pollen difficult unless supplies are at hand, and if they are at hand, they must be used within a year.  The fuse is burning.

Most beekeepers know when the need is likely and plan months ahead, then feed regardless.  There is never any harm, but sometimes not a whole lot of apparent benefit when then weather allows the natural diet to be adequate.  These thiongs are easy to predict, however -- Afterwards. :)

My recent crude experiments show that the bees will eat good supplement at any time they are active, although I cannot prove the benefit conclusively.

In most situations, feeding is not as critical as dealing with mites, and the worst that happens is reduced performance, not total loss.

There are exceptions, though, such as feedlot beekeeping where lack of timely feed can be fatal.

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