excluders with small cell bees

[lharder]

It has been thought that bees don't like passing through excluders and that it shortens the lives of workers. Since small or natural cell workers are something like 30 % smaller than large cell workers. Is it possible that they will find excluders less of a problem? Also has anyone determined whether pollen traps sized for regular colonies, start to lose their efficiency with small cell bees?

I ask the question because I am using excluders to keep queens off large cell plastic that I have in the honey supers. Some of my colonies have decided to use a bit of it for brood. Yes I have a few large cell bees running around in my colonies as a result.

[Michael Bush]

> Is it possible that they will find excluders less of a problem?

Less, yes. But they are still a problem...

> Also has anyone determined whether pollen traps sized for regular colonies, start to lose their efficiency with small cell bees?

I think they are better. They still tend to lose half their pollen and they struggle less doing it.

[lharder]

I am doubting the wisdom of a pollen trap. Seems to me they will want it all at some point, especially early spring. Has anyone experienced so much pollen intake that it never gets used? Do bees simply clean out and discard old pollen at some point? I need an observation hive.

[Michael Bush]

There are feedback mechanisms in the colony that drive pollen collection. As long as the pollen trap lets half of the pollen through the bees make up the difference by recruiting more pollen gatherers.