Essential Oils for Honey Bees as a Feeding Stimulant, Honey Bees Show a Clear Favorite in this TEST

In this video, I evaluate the "taste appeal" of four different honey bee Feeding Stimulants.
The focus and practical testing is restricted to what the bees prefer, which of course translates into more syrup being ingested and made available for comb building, and a carbohydrate load which the bees metabolize as they generate heat for brood rearing or energy used when foraging.
1:1 syrup is the optimum mixture for newly installed package bees and starting nucleus colonies.
TEST parameters are based on "Label instructions" for stimulating honey bees to feed on sugar syrup.
Below, in order of preference by honey bees via open feeding, AKA Free Choice:
First Place - 50/50 sugar water (filtered well water and granulated cane sugar was the base for all of the syrup offerings.
Second Place - Beekeeper's Choice Essential Oils and Feeding Stimulant:
blythewoodbeec...
Third Place - Honey-B-Healthy: amzn.to/2LDgtsg
Fourth Place - Pro-Sweet by Mann Lake: 5 Gallons
www.mannlakelt...
Fifth Place - Pro-Health (difference between this and Pro-Sweet were not significant) - amzn.to/36jozQt
The Yellow Entrance Feeders used in all of my liquid tests are available from beemaniacs.com...
Tell them that Frederick Dunn sent you :)
This feeding stimulant practical demonstrations does not make any assumptions nor draw any conclusions regarding the health or nutritional benefits to honey bees. These results are confined to feeding selection practical observations.
Watering Can, for those who are asking about the green watering can I use to fill drinkers, here is a link.. expensive/imported: No longer available, this is the next best thing: amzn.to/3g1mNYw
Thank you for watching!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@elizabethrogers1152]

Love it when you do your 'taste test' experiments. I just like watching what the Bee's do🐝

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you Elizabeth!

[@ericbussert8170]

That was an excellent test, its going to save people money for sure. Thank you Fred!

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome Eric :)

[@js3883]

Sugar water I thought would be obvious. Years ago i worked at the USDA honey bee North Central Research station which is now closed. In the spring all we gave them was sugar water. I think those other products are a racket, kind of like eating bee pollen or royal Jelly on face or eating it. Your test proves it. Bees love sugar.

[@FrederickDunn]

Essential oils can definitely extend the life of syrup and help with queen acceptance, but as a feeding stimulant, I've always been a skeptic. Thanks for watching and sharing what you know.

[@hyfy-tr2jy]

@@FrederickDunn I would agree with your statement on 1:1 sugar mix but the Brix number on 2:1 syrup is high enough were you don't really have to worry about spoilage

[@BlythewoodBeeCompany]

Thanks Fred. Appreciate the test!! Posting this to my website.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much :)

[@fezwhy]

I think this is great. And just proves the beekeeper doesn't need all those new fancy gadgets and gizmos. Keeping it simple and back to the basics.

[@debbie8783]

Thanks for conducting and sharing the results of this study. New beekeeper here and this was very informative. Will be using ur Amazon link as soon as I can in the future

[@FrederickDunn]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GaryManess]

I like how you always debunk everything. Cause in science all causes have to be considered. Thanks for all your work. Love watching your experiments

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you!

[@noahzegart5190]

I’m buying my hive soon!

[@Aaron16]

Well this is going to save me some money. This also make sense of what happened to me the other day. Normally I put honey b healthy in my jars, but I forgot to put it in one and I usally get a couple days before its empty but they went through it in a day.

[@FrederickDunn]

Seems backwards doesn't it...

[@angelinaswitzer27]

You are like the Mr. Rogers of all things bee related! Love your videos!

[@FrederickDunn]

Wow, thanks!

[@wendybond2848]

A great experiment. Thank you.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you Wendy!

[@LittleSnowBird_Jones]

So glad I found you through FB!!! I have such a respect for BK. 🐝💛

[@FrederickDunn]

Yay! Thank you!

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

You Sir may have just saved me a great amount of money! This seems obvious now that you've shared the information. THANK YOU!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you, sorry for such a long delay in responding.

[@DoomWizard420]

Being a 1st-year beekeeper in New Zealand in an urban setting it's interesting the comparison, we are in winter now and I still have days where plenty of bees about and flowering plants, you said 30 degrees that's -1 celsius would be super rare if that ever happened in winter.

[@donbearden1953]

Thanks Fred! It looks like I feed them their favorite.

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome Don! :)

[@theresamcpherson7352]

Thank you Fred for another learning event!

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome Theresa!

[@brianbennett4374]

Great info. Thanks 😊

[@FrederickDunn]

You're very welcome :)

[@richardwatchingfromhalifax2122]

Great to watch your experiments.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you!

[@johnmcneill923]

Definitive... nice scientific methodology. “In God I trust... everyone else provide scientific supporting data!”

[@ke6gwf]

Definitive, that they don't like that particular dose, under those exact weather conditions, but not so much for the benefit of stimulants under all doses and circumstances... Lol

[@FrederickDunn]

ke6gwf, I always welcome the posting and linking of scientific papers or university studies. Open to learning here :)

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

Well said Mr. Mcneill I feel like I've been duped for years.

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

@@ke6gwf So it performs differently under different dosing? How do you use it?

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Excellent info as always Fred! Thanks! Nice to see sugar water is the winner.. that's cheap! :)

[@Sqeptick]

Nice job on this, Fred. Now my question--and one that's much tougher to answer--is do the bees get some benefit from the additives that counters their lack of enthusiasm for them. In other words, is feeding 0.7 gallons of Honey-B-Healthy better than feeding 1 gallon of 50/50 sugar water. Not expecting an answer to this, but your experiment raises the question.

[@FrederickDunn]

If the goal is comb construction and an energy resource for started packages and newly hives swarms, pure sugar water is superior. The benefits are actually based on the sugar syrup base. None of the Essential Oil Producers have tagged or cited any University studies on their websites, they do list anecdotal stories from large beekeeping operations, many of which have a vested interest as they also sell the products. To delve more thoroughly into health or nutrition claims, serious controls and studies are yet to be done. The Bee Informed partnership concluded the health differences to be insignificant, but that was based on surveys. BeeInformed.org

[@BCGilly3]

Nice work! I like the new animated logo! I haven’t seen that before

[@robertmathurin739]

Oh yeah,Mr Dunn,, couldn't wait,,🇱🇨👊🏿👍🏿🖤

[@no1slisteninganyway]

Nicely done. I WAS wondering about positioning and this set of tests settles that. Also I won't be coming over to your house. 84 degrees inside! Yikes.

[@FrederickDunn]

That sensor was sitting in the sun on the window sill :)

Very good

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks

[@jbshomestead7694]

Thank you for all your hard work and time put into this video. This is going to save me some money.

[@FrederickDunn]

You are so welcome!

[@user-md4di6yg2p]

The flaw I see in this experiment is that you had the feeders labeled for the bees to see what was in each container...

[@FrederickDunn]

I knew should have used that brail labeler (';')( ';')... dang.... it

[@georgegarcia5052]

I really like how you end your video, explaining that the stimulants are best for preserving sugar water and helping with queen bee acceptance. I had a 2 gallon feeder and the bees drank 1 gallon in a matter of days but then stopped drinking as much as soon as I put Honey Bee Healthy to the remaining feed. Using HBE is also great for, as you suggest in other videos, in the place of smoke. Thanks 😊!

[@FrederickDunn]

yes, hbh definitely has its uses :) I will continue to use it for lots of other things :) during hive inspections on hot days, it's a winner!

[@Lbfarmsllc]

Thanks! Would like to see 50/50 vs 50/50 with a few drops of Anise extract in it.

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome, the intent was to compare commercially available formulas.

[@Lbfarmsllc]

@@FrederickDunn You saved me some money! I’ve had real good luck with a few drops of Anise extract as an attractant in syrup. After watching your video I think I’m going to use the anise in place of the HBH that was include in the sugar patty recipe Kent Williams gave us at the conference. Probably don’t even need it but it only costs pennies compared to the HBH, which you have shown isn’t apparently necessary.

[@teamgoldenhomes]

Hey Super Fred, yet ANOTHER rookie beekeeper question for you from the Goldens. Our 1 NUC is growing at a crazy rate, with our bees working to fill the second deep we put on. My question is about making a split this way: 1. Moving most frames of brood up to the top box. 2. Shake bees down to lower box. 3. Install queen excluder on top of bottom box to trap queen in bottom box. Queen would still have plenty of space and comb to lay eggs. 4. Nurse bees should move up to the top box to tend the brood (right?). 5. Remove top box and place it on a new bottom board. 6. Newly-created hive is queenless, so the bees in the new hive should make a new queen for us (right?). 7. 21 days later, I get another cool hive without having to fork out another $155 for another NUC... Am I missing something? My bees from Woodsbeeco are super docile/friendly and reproducing like crazy, so I would like to get another queen from them now to start my second hive. And I am intimidated by the idea of grafting, so I would prefer a simpler method of getting another queen.

[@teamgoldenhomes]

Forgot to mention, Woodsbeeco does not have any more of these queens for sale except in their NUCs.

[@marinediva92130]

Thank you I’m a new beekeeper since 2 weeks with 2 nucs in Hendersonville TN I’ve been watching you for last 2 years but now it’s go time ... now I’m going back a watching all r videos ... i was told to feed syrup but nobody told me syrup goes bad ... thankfully I caught it going bad and replaced it ... but now I’m looking into adding essential oils.. do u ever try any recipes with just essential oils added .... not buying a product ?

[@FrederickDunn]

If all you want to do is preserve your sugar syrup from spoiling..... just add a little under a teaspoon of bleach (no additives) to your quart of sugar syrup..... dirt cheap and does not harm the bees, it also sanitizes your drinkers. least expensive and very effective.

[@ricefarmer1point6]

Hey neighbor...kinda, I’m in Lebanon

[@ronfults3844]

I have and have used Honey B Healthy like I'm sure most everyone has. Mostly to keep my syrup from going bad so quickly. Last couple of years I've been using a different stimulant called 3 B's. I fellow here in Ohio makes it and I really like it and have has good results with it.

[@FrederickDunn]

There is an endless list of honey-bee essential oil mixes out there. But if sanitizing a drinker, or keeping the syrup from spoiling is the only goal, then a tsp of bleach does the trick and the bees don't mind that swimming pool scent at all.

[@thedeafcattledog8608]

@@FrederickDunn Is that a tsp per gallon?

[@downunderfulla6001]

In the positions of the syrup, the feeder on it’s right was consumed next every time. Not sure which way your robbing station bench runs (east-west,etc.) you did say the bench is located in the western direction. Maybe the hives are taking the closest feeder from their direction after the syrup. I hope I’m making sense. Lol, I don’t expect you to bore holes in your yard for a X facing station. Thank you for your time, help with questions, A++++ videos and photography 🍺🍺

[@hyfy-tr2jy]

to be truly scientifically valid this study would need to be repeated at least 40 times. Even with two runs the results would still be considered anecdotal and not scientific at this point. It seems apparent, at face value, that the sugar only solution is the constant winner here but still requires a level of scrutiny to make scientific statements instead of "interesting observations"

[@dangalangslanger1254]

I think oil of anise would possibly outperform plain syrup. Something with anise, and geraniol would do even better. Maybe. Please do a video on these. Oh and citrol. I dont be using that in feed though

[@FrederickDunn]

We have that, and the bees still prefer the plain sugar syrup over all others. Thanks for commenting :)

[@Matt-dc8lp]

I would love to see you repeat this test again this year but use MUCH less stimulant. I've found that a little goes a very long way, typically using 1/4 tsp of HBH per gallon. It probably doesn't provide the level of anti spoilage as 1 tsp per quart. Could even select one stimulant and try a 4 different concentrations and compare to straight sugar syrup. Great test.

[@FrederickDunn]

If I go "off label" the criticisms are fast and furious for reviewing an item in a way not recommended by the makers.

[@Matt-dc8lp]

@@FrederickDunn That's a shame as there could be learnings. Well, these are interesting tests and I hope you can post more of them. Thanks for doing them.

[@jaywrittenour5770]

I just watched a bob binnie video on feeding sugar syrup for brood growth and he said a study was done and a 1.3 water to 1 sugar ratio showed the best growth. Maybe you might try a video on sugar syrup ratios.

[@bettymann8077]

Fred, do you have a video or other info on the white plastic robbing screen? Enjoy your videos very much. I'm in eastern Ohio between Youngstown and Steubenville so am guessing that we are similar in climate.

[@hyfy-tr2jy]

One side note...even though the bees prefer the regular sugar mix....lots of people feed these additives to improve the health of the bees and has nothing to do with the quantity of sugar syrup taken. If you had a sick child and gave them the option of drinking Kool Aid or Cough Medicine....which do you think they would drink?

[@FrederickDunn]

Always stick with scientific evidence when it comes to additives including essential oils. The sugar syrup alone when compared with the essential oil additives demonstrate no significant difference in brood production or activity levels or longevity of adult bees. Essential oils can extend the storage time of sugar syrup.

[@PreppingAngel]

I wish the test was done without the plain sugar water. I wanted to see what products they liked the best. We all know everything is attracted to junk foods. lol They may be taking the Beekeepers Choice because it's next to the sugar water.

[@FrederickDunn]

Next to sugar water, nothing competes. Since the goal with "feeding stimulants" is to get bees to ingest more sugar water, I think the answer is clear. There are no proven honey bee health gains from the stimulants to date.

[@eddielloyd13]

Hi Fred, have you tried "Hive Alive" from Ireland...

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, and it's the only supplement that has published studies supporting its benefits. It's proven to reduce nosema spores and possibly more.

[@havenparkapiary2452]

Great test and it leads me to two questions. 1: I have 2 new hives with saskatraz bees. Saw both queens on placing the 2 Nuc's in the hives. I have a round rapid top feeders in each. Hive 1 is not consuming the sugar syrup very well... After 6 days only used 1/2. Hive 2 is very active and is consuming the feeder 1 per day. I did an inspection and hive 1 has some drones, some larva, and minimal necter. Good amount of pollen. Hive 2 is gangbusters. Visualized the queen and many larva and eggs. Already drawing out new comb on 3 empty boards. Comments and any ideas on how to jump start hive 1? Question 2: it winter feeding an issue in some areas could the Prow Sweet be placed in a frame feeder and give the colony a honey like food source?

[@RunningWithSauce]

I'd "bee" curious to see this same experiment using 50/50 sugar to water with spearmint/lemongrass oil and soy lecithin combo homemade as another variable in the mix. I make my own to extend its shelf life.

[@FrederickDunn]

Experiment away.... just remember that much of that isn't suited for human consumption, it is fun to see what they select. 50/50 is generally not stored.

[@noahriding5780]

Thanks for all you do to help bee research. I wanted to ask if you think delivering essential oils to treat mites through feed as a delivery system, fully gets the full mite treatment results as good as other mechanisms, such as foggers, other means, etc? When people first hear about using feed as the deliver for a mite treatment w essential oils etc, its hard to know if its got a trade off on the results, or if the # of times being used as a treatment has to be changed etc. Thanks.

[@FrederickDunn]

For me, no essential oils as a miticide, and no foggers. The essential oil levels would have to be too high in order to be effective.

[@sz.marcell]

Epic

[@darcidiniz7053]

Translator tô portuguese please

[@daveshearn2743]

This is off subject but has anybody ever heard of marking a queen leading to the creation of queen cells? Just found and marked my newly installed quuen( 1st time doing that) last week. Checked the hive today and found a supercedure cell.

[@FrederickDunn]

They can react to the newly maked queen if she is put back while the paint is still wet. Other than that, they have at times, chewed off the paint. I've not known it to cause them to push up their swarm activities.

[@Merlin.Twiggles]

Hey Fred I was wondering if you had repeated this experiment and warmer weather? I think the results might be different a different time of the year.

[@FrederickDunn]

I never do just a one-off when it comes to this kind of observation. They exponentially prefer sugar syrup with no additives over anything else. Essential oils do extend the shelf life of sugar syrup if you have it on for an extended period, but it doesn't encourage more consumption.

[@Merlin.Twiggles]

@@FrederickDunn do you have a Christmas wish list on Amazon? Would you post the link? 🤪

[@charlesthomas5737]

I agree with your results, Pro Health your just wasting your money and from my experience as a sideliner all the feed supplements are just a waste of money. Straight sugar water is all you need, but if you need large amounts of feed( 300 gallon Tote), Pro sweet might be your next choice over sugar water.

[@FrederickDunn]

Pro-Sweet is insanely expensive... that 5 gal bucket was $70.00.... If I were a commercial operation, I'd have my own formula.

[@ricefarmer1point6]

What is the large blue thing off to the side. Those arlo cameras are good cameras.

[@FrederickDunn]

dry pollen substitute feeder. currently out of service...

[@ke6gwf]

What I see is too much stimulant added to all the syrups, and the bees preferring the plain one, though possibly attracted to the station by the odor of the stimulants. Try this again with half as much stimulant, and see if it changes, reducing further until you find if there is a sweet spot where the bees prefer the stimulant. It could also be a factor of temperature, hive activity etc, where they just don't want the essential oils under these exact conditions. But the fact that they treated all the flavored products pretty much the same, tells me that there is a possibility that they are all too strong by the bees taste, and considering that they are all dosed the same, that makes sense. Now, I should clarify that I don't have a horse in this race, I am not a proponent of using extra stuff if not needed, so I am not trying to argue just to support the use of stimulants, but this test leaves more questions than it answers for me, and I am AM a proponent of well designed tests! And, I am not saying that you overdosed compared to label directions, most didn't have dosage easily visible on the purchase links, but I saw enough to satisfy myself that you were at the low end of the recommendation of at least some of them, but I also don't trust manufacturer recommendations for such things! Lol They may be wanting to sell more syrup, and a lower dose may have better effects. It would also be interesting to see if the lower doses have syrup preserving effects as well.

[@FrederickDunn]

The lowest dosing on each essential oil product is 1 tsp. That's the feeding stimulant dosage. "half as much stimulant' would be off label, and since I'm reviewing based on their recommendations, that in itself would be cause for dismissal of my evaluation. I've done this in the past with Honey-B-Healthy exclusively at exactly a level teaspoon which should satisfy you a tiny bit more. The results were the same. As a preservative exclusively, I'd go with just under a teaspoon of bleach rather than essential oils as it's a tiny fraction of the cost. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

[@Henry.Bendik]

This was very interesting Fred thank you. We're in Southern Ontario across the lake from you I think, and many beekeepers use fondant for feeding their bees. Have you used fondant before?

[@FrederickDunn]

H Henry, I don't personally use fondant and have no plans to do that in the future. For emergency rations in winter, all I do is put dry cane sugar, either in a rapid round, or on newsprint, directly over the top frames. It's worked for many years, so I have no plans to alter that.

[@Henry.Bendik]

Frederick ok thanks!

[@grounded7362]

Have you ever tried sugar syrup with only spearmint oil VS sugar Syrup alone VS sugar syrup with Beekeeper's Choice or Honey-B-Health which also includes lemongrass oil to see if the lemongrass oil has an effect on how much they consume?

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, I've tested sugar syrup as the base, against the same base with Honey-B-Healthy, Pro-Health, and Beekeeper's Choice to see which boosted appetite better. Plain sugar syrup was the top choice by a wide margin. As far as simply adding spearming oil to the syrup, I've not done that. There would also be variations in the spearment oil used.

[@grounded7362]

@@FrederickDunn So what if you tried the suggested amount of spearmint oil for home made honey b healthy and added that to your 1:1 sugar syrup? Just curious if the lack of lemongrass oil would change whether the bees would take more 1:1 sugar syrup or more of the 1:1 sugar syrup with spearmint oil. “Honey Bee Healthy” 5 cups Water 2 1/2 pounds Sugar 1/8 tsp. Lecithin Granules (used as an emulsifier) 15 drops Spearmint Oil 15 drops Lemongrass Oil (omit) Add 1 teaspoon HBH per quart of 1:1 syrup.

[@michaelsulser6906]

Did I miss your video on Mead?

[@FrederickDunn]

That posted already :) BUT, won't be taste testing the mead until July. The video just shows the process.

[@emmanuelbutmankiewicz5342]

Great video as always! Unrelated to feeding...how close does a water source need to be so that one does not need to put our water for our bees? Ive got a few ponds and a small running creek about 1/2 to 1/4 mile away.

[@FrederickDunn]

Those water sources are close enough for the bees, but it also never hurts to have drinking stations out near the apiary.

[@martinacovey4471]

We like the yellow open feeders. Where can we order these from? We tried the square top give feeder & too many bees drowned & they produced a crazy amount of burr comb. The comb was full of honey.

[@martinacovey4471]

Meant hive feeder.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Martina, the link is in the video description...

[@martinacovey4471]

@@FrederickDunn thank you for your help! Love your videos!

[@aaronluecking3597]

Hello Fred, just read part of a study about bumblebees. True it’s not honey bees but the study says bumblebees can manipulate plant blooms in an area where there is not enough pollen for a colony by making small incisions on the leafs to cause them to bloom earlier than normal. Is it possible that honey bees can do something similar? And manipulate their surroundings if they lack pollen? As always look forward to your answer.

[@FrederickDunn]

Here is my lengthy answer to that.... honey bees have not been observed doing anything like that. Bumbles are indipendently very clever, while honey bees are collectively the most intelligent insects. Please share a link to the information on the Bumble bees causing early blooms, I would enjoy reading it as I'm sure others would. Thanks so much!

[@aaronluecking3597]

Thanks for the clarifying answer. Included is the the link to the National Geographic topic with embedded video. Since I am not a member I do not have access to the original article published on May 21 in Science Magazine. Perhaps those who do have a subscription can benefit more. There are hyperlinks embedded in the article as well. Link: api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/animals/2020/05/bumblebees-bite-plants-flower-early

[@aaronluecking3597]

Thanks for fielding my question and sorry to take more of your time. The reason this interests me is that I have recorded February 16 I have proof of pollen coming in to my hives. I am in South Centralia Illinois. There was nothing blooming not even maples at tat time. True they can find obscure sources, but I cannot help but wonder if the honey bees benefit from the bumble bees doing this, even though they don’t always share the same floral sources. This the question could honey bees also do this?

[@jwbarker81]

The rack that you use here, I’ve been looking at building one and was wondering if you might provide a parts list of how do you built it? I want to be able to set my old honey frames to be cleaned and also going to put a robbing feeder there as well

[@FrederickDunn]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKaqmXxtpKtroaM

[@jwbarker81]

Thanks Mr. Dunn!!

[@CADD572]

With the different commercial brands, and private recipes on you tube etc. It can become overwhelming as a new beekeeper. it makes me ask what essential oils etc are actually essential for the bees (e.g. some have wintergreen,spearmint,thyme, and any combinations of others. Some say lemongrass yes some say no. I know the tests have showed what the bees prefer, but what do they really need?

[@FrederickDunn]

I can clear that up for you, what they "need" they can get from abundant forage on their own. :) These are referred to as "essential oils" even when marketed to people. Not necessarily essential for insects, but they may help if the bees are comprimised in some way. May help with dysentary at higher drench doses. But a healthy colony wouldn't need that.

[@francinekeane9900]

Hi Fred. Unfortunately they don't ship Beekeeper's Choice Essential Oils and Feeding Stimulant to Australia and the honey bee healthy has been out of stock for awhile. Will 1:1 sugar water be good enough to build up my new nuc that I am getting in Oct (our spring) Thanks

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes 1:1 sugar syrup by itself is fine.

[@theresamcpherson7352]

Hey Fred, I forgot to ask, Do you think a chicken water would work with the 50/50? Maybe add a few small rocks to give the bees a platform? I think they stopped making the waters you are now using.

[@FrederickDunn]

HI Theresa, the drinkers I show in this video are still available, the link is in the video description. BeeManiacs.com Chicken drinkers don't perform well for honey bees for me, I like the large BeeSmart Design feeders when I really need to relieve some dearth pressure, they are one gallon each, but no dead bees and easy to clean up and rotate out.

[@MrScottnewburn]

Can you provide information or a link for the huge blue water container that you have to the left of your experiment? Thank you.

[@FrederickDunn]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoLFnHx9mKd3oLc

[@MrScottnewburn]

@@FrederickDunn thank you for always being so responsive.

[@stansmith4054]

Every year when I install packages I put them in a hive with one deep full of frames that were built last season but are empty and one medium with 9 frames of capped honey. I put out sugar syrup but they never take any. Is this because they have full honey frames?

[@FrederickDunn]

I personally wouldn't start a new package with the two box system you're describing. I would go with the single deep and also not place old capped honey from another colony on them. You'd be ahead if, instead of old capped honey, you simply put a feeder shim on that single box and provide 1:1 sugar syrup as the starter. Honey from other hives can carry viruses, and has proven to be less useful to a new install than sugar syrup. Remember that they are approximately 30 days out from building their numbers in a new hive, so for the next several weeks their numbers will be in decline, that's why I recommend the single deep for starters. I wish you all the best Stan!

[@floridagrown772]

On the 2nd go round why did you take one of the feeders away?

[@FrederickDunn]

Because it's a fall feeding complete recipe and not a essential oil additive sold as a feeding stimulant.

[@SpecialAgentNoble77]

You would have to actually rotate the feeders due to bee behavior. Did they return to scouts choice or did each bee actual choose???

[@FrederickDunn]

They find the location based on scout reports, part of the scouts doing their waggle dance is also partnered with a taste test so the foragers that arrive at the same location are seeking the pre-approved taste that would be familiar to them. They are really after the sugars and will ultimately go to any sugary source.

[@Sqeptick]

Interesting point. But I don't think the waggle dance gives precise enough directions to distinguish between feeders that close together.

[@SpecialAgentNoble77]

@@FrederickDunn And hive numbers might play a factor... in that they may have a secret seedy cabal dictating which hive gets which resources... ultimately planning to overthrow the other hives in a bid to take over the region's honey production.... Just maybe.

[@SpecialAgentNoble77]

@@Sqeptick Yeah, it all depends on them hips... Does she have hips.. Down to earth drone loves hips.

[@garybucher6824]

Hi Fred, I'm hoping you could help me out. I treated my bees with essential oils once in the spring. i used spearmint , wintergreen , lemongrass and tea tree oil. I just scraped the caps off a frame and started extracting some honey. And i had to try it. It tasted minty. And made me wonder if it was from the essential oils and if it was safe to eat? I have no idea and don't know where to find a answer.

[@FrederickDunn]

Across the board, essential oils shouldn't be provided to the bees when honey supers are going on. For the reason you just described, it can end up in the honey that is harvested. I have to leave it to you regarding how safe it would be to eat, you know the source of the oils you've used. All of the commercially produced essential oil offerings have "not for human consumption" on their labels, but that may be if taken direct from the bottle. Sorry I can't be more help than that.

[@garybucher6824]

@@FrederickDunn Thank you for responding Fred ! I wasn't planning on getting any honey this year, i made a lot of splits and didn't think they would be making much. But they've been working hard and a few are getting honey bound. I did eat more and have had no problems but i think I'm going to save it until fall and feed it to them because i don't care for the taste. I thought they would need it and not be storing it . Thanks !

[@garybucher6824]

And i did try to buy only food grade.

[@omarualpacafarm]

I’m a newbie in Australia, still studying and preparing before my two nucs arrive in our spring. Feeding/robbing stations? The idea seems great but my question is how much risk is there for disease and pest transmission at a feeding station?

[@FrederickDunn]

I explain that in my robbing station video :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaXOfJeCpM9jZpI

[@jklin2987]

FYI - 2 of those little feeders cost $8.98. Shipping is an additional $22. Yikes! I’m going to have to pass for now.

[@FrederickDunn]

I hope that issue has changed since this post.

[@jklin2987]

@@FrederickDunn I haven't checked. I tried for 3 years to get my small city to change the code to allow backyard beekeeping in town. Because the mayor, whose wife runs a daycare and lives across the street from me, decided that bees are much too dangerous to have in town. They were convinced my bees would "swarm" across the street every morning and drink out of their kiddy pool, putting the children in danger. I had someone from the U of MN Bee Lab come down to speak to the entire council to no avail. They voted the change in the ordinance down and bees remain farm animals and aren't allowed in town. It was an extremely frustrating and disappointing situation but I ran for city council and won a seat at the table. I'm now a council member. The bee question hasn't come up yet but you never know.....

[@credecarter8429]

What are the most common ways a beekeeper accidentally kills there queen

[@FrederickDunn]

Pulling frames straight up without moving adjacent frames to the side... rolling the queen between frames. That's number one.

[@periplanetamissionary]

Even bees don't like health food lol

[@FrederickDunn]

The "health food" aspect is yet to be proven... The Bee Informed Partnership, funded by the USDA and National Institute of Food and Agriculture - Report ID 182 - 3050 respondents, 270,118 colonies managed, All colony losses were above 30% weather they used HBH or not, less than 3% difference in losses. Interpretation: No difference detected between groups. So what the oil mixes actually do, may not meet the claims. I wouldn't call it "health food" when there is real food out in the environment that is naturally compatible with bee health and nutrition :)

[@Dan-oj4iq]

Fred: Is it true or false that if a person has no fear of bees and stands near a hive the bees will not bother this person. But if another person stands in the same place and is afraid of the bees: they will know and sting them? The fearful person will give off a scent that annoys the bees. The relaxed person has no scent.

[@FrederickDunn]

I have no idea about the fear-factor. I can sit there with a cup of coffee and watch them from inches away. My wife can walk into the bee yard and receive a sting within the first five minutes. She always expects to be stung and that may impact her movements, or just may be her long hair? They definitely target certain people and it only takes the one guard! My 4 year old grandson gets kicked out of the bee yard often because he's not wearing his veil... he walks freely among the bees and looks at landing boards completely unnoticed. It's a puzzle.

[@emmanuelbutmankiewicz5342]

When not harvesting honey from the flow hive should it still be leveled as per the sprit levels built into the hive stand? Or should it truly leveled front to back so the landing board and hive are more tilted down for water to flow more easily out of the entrance after/during a rain?

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, you can do that, it's not a problem at all.

[@mcockerham2003]

Way to lead the kid. "How about the second one?" Then just saying #2 is second based on level when it is probably due to being next to #1.

[@FrederickDunn]

You'll fine the results are the same, even after you've rotated their positions. We also changed the positions during the test cycles and they quickly shift to the favored mix. Easy to try and repeat. The bees demonstrate strong preferences for sugar syrup with no additives.

[@timan2039]

Is a test of syrup and syrup with salt doable?

[@FrederickDunn]

I would leave the salts and minerals to the fresh unsweetened water.....

[@firstchoiceautosalesllc1663]

Ok, need to know short and simple.... Lol When do I stop feeding pollen and sugar water? Or is it true that I feed u til they stop taking or always have it available and they'll take it when they need it? 😉👍

[@FrederickDunn]

They stop taking the pollen sub here when the dandelions come in strong. Very narrow window of feeding opportunity.

[@billmclaughlin8438]

So I installed a package of Saskatraz bees in a brand new equipment with no drawn comb, used a rapid round feeder for the first time, filled with 1-1 pure cane sugar and filtered water. Added Honey-B-Healthy per bottle instructions. The bees were dying in droves in the feeder (by drowning). Installed some cut down sponges so the bees had something to hang on to.... bees still dying in the feeder. The also aren’t taking in the feed. We only have dandelion in Colorado Springs right now. We are in a drought. Is the feed additive causing issues? I plan on throwing it out and just feed sugar water. Thoughts any?

[@adde9506]

Do they have open access to the feeder, or are they only able to come up through the center hole?

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Bill... I need to get that drinker video out asap.... putting a sock around that center riser solves the problem of drowning and works like a wick that brings the syrup up from the bottom - I have tube socks for 8 year olds, but the ankle part off, wash it by hand with Dawn dish soap... rinse clean and then place in your rapid round so the sock just comes over the top of the center cone... the bees come up the center and feed through the sock even though there is an opening in the center. Try it! As for the HBH being the feeding slow-down, try it without and see. It just may be that your bees are now finding better nectar alternatives in the environment. But if it rains etc.. they will return to the feeder.

[@shaynehoskins6970]

Bill, I installed 2 saskatraz packages on April 25th with rapid round feeders using 1 to 1 syrup only. For 2 weeks I had not one single bee drown. On May 11th I got my HBH in from Amazon and mixed up new syrup with 1tsp per quart HBH. 2 days later the feeders where plugged with drowned bees. I pulled the feeders and cleaned them. Reinstalled them May 18th with the 1 to 1 syrup with HBH and within hours the feeder was full of drowned bees. I'm going to discontinue HBH in hive top feeders.

[@jimhughes4765]

Are you close to a solution for the hive top round feeder to feed these solutions?

[@FrederickDunn]

Held off on that video Jim, as I want to thoroughly evaluate the results... but looking good and evaluation is ongoing. Will post results this week.

[@Vladviking]

They may be attracted to the smell but not like the taste. I'm just putting a couple drops Tea Tree oil in my 1 to 1 experiment feeder only because it seems to stop or retard the sugar mold set in. I found in a plate 2 to 1 sugar water they are most attracted to yellow food dye. Nothing like the elaborate tests you perform though. I wonder if there is a flaw because your feeders are too close together. Being they may be drawn to the station by all the smell but opt for the 50/50. Where as how long would it take for them to find plain sugar water. Not long I suspect but?

[@FrederickDunn]

It's true that they take longer to locate plain sugar syrup, but the scouts eventually locate everything and return to their favorites. Greater separation actually reduces their drift to the essential oil mixes and accelerates the sugar syrup consumption. That's interesting about the color, which wouldn't matter inside the hive as a stimulant as it's dark in there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@Vladviking]

@@FrederickDunn Yes and it may not be the color because food coloring has ingredients that may "smell" too. Never can be too sure with science things. I have finally caught a swarm (maybe not in hive yet) and now have to cast an aluminum oxalic acid heating "spoon" and worry about feeding them and such.

[@LadyElk1]

Mine drink the 50/50 sw down so fast, doesn't need anything added for mold... my gals are pretty voracious eaters

[@Vladviking]

@@LadyElk1 Winter saw me going thru 2+ quarts a week on random feral bees. So yea but a couple cold/stormy days delays and I would start to see that black sludge in the jar.

[@cliffordallan1393]

Maybe bees approach the various types of feeds like my kids approach vegetables...they would rather eat Captain Crunch all day...even tho clearly not the best ...lol

[@FrederickDunn]

That's a very common thought, and why I stuck with "feeding stimulant" only.

[@stgermain1074]

Hey, Fred. One of my new hives is drawing out wacky frame on plastic foundation. Drawing comb out perpendicularly, not parallel to the foundation. These are Pierco frames - the other hives seem to be drawing correctly. What can I do?

[@olddave4833]

maybe should have coated the foundation with plenty of wax.. they do funny things on plastic sometimes if there isn't lots of wax.

[@stgermain1074]

@@olddave4833 They're double-waxed plastic. But maybe it's not enough. I have some old wax I could coat them with. I pulled that frame and put in another frame of drawn comb.

[@FrederickDunn]

They often to that with pierco, they do it less with the heavy waxed acorn frames. You can scrap them down, make sure your hive is absolutely level and replace them.. helpful if you can add more wax to the foundation.

[@yohjokromwood2327]

lissen the must be differense in sugar that growing in extreamly vertile soil

[@noahzegart5190]

Can I buy a feeder shim off you

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you for asking that, I just don't have the time do produce them. And shipping would be extreme as they aver very VERY heavy.

[@noahzegart5190]

Frederick Dunn ok!

[@noahzegart5190]

Frederick Dunn any recommendations on where to buy one?

[@Peter-od7op]

When do you stop feeding bees

[@FrederickDunn]

Some of my hives I haven't had feed on at all, but I do feed started colonies until the heavy nectar flow comes on which is going to be at the end of next week.

[@Peter-od7op]

Ty so much for reply. This first time bee keeper is tough. Just when you think you have an idea of what to do. You dont gee

[@darcidiniz7053]

Translate tô portuguese please

[@FrederickDunn]

Ok, look for the CC later today, I'll take care of that for you.

[@SpecialAgentNoble77]

Choosy bees choose JIF.

[@radiorebel8223]

So unfortunately I don’t see you at least including one where you added a tsp of water to the 50/50 sugar water to even the dilution, so I cannot trust this experiment. This could be that the bees see the sugar water as a higher sugar content source and why they may go for it more. I know it seems like a small amount, but keeping your test variables and amounts consistent is part of what gives accurate results that you can draw conclusions.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@radiorebel8223]

Frederick Dunn and thank you for at least doing this much. I know buying those oils was not cheap, and I’m sorry if I seem to sound like I’m snotty. I don’t mean to, truly.

[@rojopoops]

Great work Fred. Do you have a link for the green watering can?

[@FrederickDunn]

I will put that up right away... that rascal is expensive becuase it's imported from the UK.... but I'll get that into the video description asap. :)