(Above)

Pollen substitute isn’t picky about who eats it — it’s protein, and protein is protein whether you’re a nurse bee building up winter bees or a squirrel putting on fat before the cold sets in. Hang a feeder full of the stuff outside a wood shop, and you haven’t built a pollen feeder. You’ve built a squirrel buffet with a “bees welcome too” sign.

They’re clever about it, too. They’ll perch right on the rim, work the powder with both front paws like a kid with a granola bar, and barely look up when you walk by with a hive tool in hand. And honestly, it’s hard to be too mad at them. Fall’s a hungry, hoarding season for every creature in the yard, not just the ones in your hive boxes. The squirrels are doing their own version of what the bees are doing — packing away calories now so there’s something to draw on when the temperature drops and the pantry gets thin.

The only real downside is math: a feeder of pollen substitute disappears a lot faster with a squirrel or two treating it like a standing invitation. If you’re finding your feeder emptied out faster than the bees should manage on their own, that’s your answer — and it might be worth a squirrel baffle or moving the feeder somewhere less shop-adjacent, unless you don’t mind sharing.

(Below) And here are a few pictures of this year’s effort. No squirrels this year after placing the feeders on PVC pipe and greasing the pipe. A little plastic protrudes over the opening to protect the pollen from any rain.