Do you add anything to your Sugar Syrup

[MuswellMetro]

Talking at our out apiary today with an older Beek

, he said he added a pint of apple cider vinager to every gallons of 1-1 sugar syrup in spring and two tablespoons of lemon jiuce and teaspoon of wintergreen or tea trea oil toa gallon of his autumn 2-1 syrup

i heard of crushed vitiamin pill or vitamin c tablets being added but what do you do..i only use pure sugar and water

is it worth adding things?

 

[oliver90owner]

I prefer fructose, glucose mixtures with about 2% pollen.

Regards, RAB

 

[Finman]

.
I add nothing to syrup. Bees do not need it.
I try to put for winter so much pollen frames as I find in autumn.

Basicly bees get energy from honey or sugar and other nutritions they get from pollen.


By the way, winter green oil is poison.

"Old Fart"

 

[Hombre]

I prefer fructose, glucose mixtures with about 2% pollen.
Regards, RAB

Decidedly droll.

. . . By the way, winter green oil is poison.
"Old Fart"

I would never have considered applying an Old Fart to the bees to revive them for the spring, but I bow to your superior knowledge Finman. Just the thing to Finnish them off for the spring eh?

 

[victor meldrew]

My friend has successfully used both tea tree oil and winter green in his winter feed Successfully so far this winter as all his colonies plus nucs' have been flying strongly during last weeks mild weather !!

John Wilkinson

 

[hedgerow pete]

musswell, is the tea spoon of winter green oil per gallon. do we know why he use's that amount, I ask because I am trying to research the reasoning behind alot of the oil myths and just wondered if you knew any thing

I have heard about the leamon oil to help prevent the syrup becoming cloudy or mould infected, I take it the cider vinager would also prevent the mould aswell

 

[Hivemaker.]

I use thymol in syrup feed,emulsified with lecithin.

From the link below ....Oxalic acid was the most toxic of the products tested.

At 14 days of treatment, wintergreen was the least toxic.

http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20080612_5

 

[Finman]

I, wintergreen was the least toxic.

]

I ment with that oral toxicy to humans.

Perhaps it is same what you add to your honey.

http://www.drugs.com/npp/wintergreen.html
Wintergreen Dosing

Because of toxicity concerns, follow the suggested manufacturer's oral or topical dosage form regimen: 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of wintergreen oil is equivalent to approximately 7000 mg of salicylate or 21.5 adult aspirin tablets.

Of course teaspoon of honey does not have teaspoon of wintergreen.

 

[MuswellMetro]

musswell, is the tea spoon of winter green oil per gallon. do we know why he use's that amount, I ask because I am trying to research the reasoning behind alot of the oil myths and just wondered if you knew any thing

I have heard about the leamon oil to help prevent the syrup becoming cloudy or mould infected, I take it the cider vinager would also prevent the mould aswell

He actually said an egg spoon of oil mixed with and egg spoon of egg yolk per gallon, so i would take that as less than a 5ml spoon full say 3ml..but have not got an egg spoon

cider vinager: his reason was the bees take more syrup and keeps it mould free

 

[Finman]

I have heard about the leamon oil to help prevent the syrup becoming cloudy or mould infected, I take it the cider vinager would also prevent the mould aswell

I have feeded so much sugar syrup to bees that I know how to avoid mold formation in syrup:

1) Keeps feeding containers clean

Moulding happens in spots which has dirty, dead wasp or something which give nutrition to mould

2) If mould exist, wash the container

4) Don't keep too long syrup feeder on the hive.

5) Arrange feedins so that bees consume syrup quickly.

6) Concentration of sugar stops mould formation but dripling condensation water dilutes the surface.

 

[hedgerow pete]

thanks for the replies

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

Do you suppose it would be worth adding a measure of yeast - it might then be possible to cut out the trouble of harvesting honey, and go straight to the business of bottling mead?!

 

[Finman]

Do you suppose it would be worth adding a measure of yeast - it might then be possible to cut out the trouble of harvesting honey, and go straight to the business of bottling mead?!

Don't forget that cow urine
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal...for-better-rearing-of-honeybees_10069458.html

 

[MrB]

Don't forget that cow urine
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal...for-better-rearing-of-honeybees_10069458.html

Hmm, interesting.
Would it leave residue in the honey though?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Hmm, interesting.
Would it leave residue in the honey though?

I'll never eat dark orange coloured honey again

How about Vitamin C at 2gm per litre of one to one sugar/water , think i remember that being a trial done at rothampsted to increase brood