Some types are fairly palatable, whereas others are undesirable for human food or for wintering bees in northern areas. Pollen Plants Pollen is an essential food used in the rearing of honey bee larvae and maturing of young worker bees. A good, strong colony of bees may collect and use 50 to 100 pounds of pollen during the season. Lack of pollen slows colony development in many localities in the spring and in some locations in the summer and fall. Pollen may be available in the flied, but cold or rainy weather may prevent the bees from gathering it.
Some beekeepers feed pollen supplements, alone or mixed with bee-gathered pollen, to their colonies.
Pollen supplements are sold by bee-supply dealers. 1 Retired, formerly apiculturist, U.S. Department of Agriculture.