Alida Francisco Janmaat wrote:
 
> I spoke to a beekeeper from Alberta who would supplement his colonies with
> pollen, only to find that chalkbrood became a problem.  I suspect that
> the colonies responded to the addition of pollen by increasing brood
> production above that which the adult bees could keep warm.  It's possible
> that spores were present in the pollen, but I think that spores are
> present in the colony at all times, and chalkbrood only becomes a problem
> when the colony is compromised in some way.
 
I used to collect pollen and market it commercially.  However, the
pollen trays could become heavily contaminated with chalkbrood mummies,
which the pollen cleaning machine could not separate from pollen
pellets.  They were about the same weight, although slightly larger in
size.  I had to sort through the entire collection of pollen by hand
every day, picking out the chalkbrood, and I'm almost certain some was
missed despite my best efforts.  That's the main reason I gave up on
pollen, even though it was much more lucrative than honey.  I just
didn't have the time and patience for it.
 
I bring this up because I would bet that much of the above problem could
be traced to pollen contaminated with chalkbrood mummies, or at least
the fungus spores rubbing off of them.  Even though I know that pollen
is the best food, I only use artificial supplements now because of my
fear of contaminated pollen.
 
Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA