July 06th, 2012

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So I purchased a couple of pollen traps, since Ive had them on not much pollen was being collected. The bees mostly tried to find another way into the hive. If they can find a way that is easier then they will by-pass the trap altogether.
However today was a great pollen day and collected quite a bit, I am not sure if I will sell it or keep it to feed back to them in the spring.
The benefits of pollen can be found here
It seemed to take about a week for them to catch on that they have to go through the pollen trap to get into the hive. I will take pictures when the sun comes back but for now here are some pictures that are not mine but they give you an idea what a trap looks like. It does not hurt the bees in any way and other than a week of frustration they go about their daily business. The trap does not remove all the pollen from the bee but just some of it.

This picture shows the bottom view of the trap, on the front (right side of picture) are bee escapes. The bees enter the hive through the trap and exit via the bee escape. I will show better pictures soon, but they look like funnels, bees can go one way but not the other.

This is a top view, the front (right side of picture) you can see the bee escapes 10 holes. The board on top is to prevent any debris from getting into the pollen. The tray is removed from the back, its shown half out. The narrow gap at the rear of the trap is where the bees enter the hive body. If it doesn't make sense it will soon. I will try to get a video as well.