Bee Bread
Lexikon
Pollen stored in the cells and fermented through lactic acid fermentation.
Pollen stored in the cells and fermented through lactic acid fermentation. The bees pack the pollen down firmly, add honey and glandular secretion, and cover it with a thin layer of honey.
The lactic acid fermentation makes the pollen keep and easier for the bees to digest. Bee bread is the colony's only source of protein and the basis of all brood rearing. A colony consumes several dozen kilograms of it per year.
Anyone who finds pollen combs at the edge of the brood nest in spring can see from this how well provisioned the colony is. A colony without a pollen store cannot rear brood, no matter how much honey it has.