rhubarb leaves

[newportbuzz]

hi im sure its a daft question but i saw a youtube vid somewhere where a woman was using rhubarb leaves inbetween her super and brood chamber to encourage the bees to remove the leaf and so dose the hive with oxylic acid. i know the leaves can contain up to .5% oxylic acid aswell as a lot of other stuff and the dribble treatment for oxylic is 3% so is this even viable and does it do any good /or bad

 

[Dishmop]

This is something which I have been thinking of over the last couple of days since somebody said that the acid was in the leaves,, and on checking, found they also contain acetic acid...

Find a bee with a mite and put it in a jar with a bit of leaf and see what happens....

 

[newportbuzz]

Find a bee with a mite and put it in a jar with a bit of leaf and see what happens....

that might be easier said than done. ill look out for one i have to take my samples for analysis anyway

 

[BKF Admin]

I think the leaves contain around .5% OA.

Anyone want to do the maths to see how many leaves by weight you would need to dose a colony.

Whats a stock solution,3% ?

 

[Skyhook]

I think the leaves contain around .5% OA.

Anyone want to do the maths to see how many leaves by weight you would need to dose a colony.

The problem is that plant analyses will vary hugely according to natural variation, soil, weather, time of year, time of day etc etc. This makes it almost impossible to calculate a dose- which is why, when a good active compound is found, it's isolated and synthesised.

If I have a headache, I'm quite happy to take an aspirin, but I'd be very nervous about using willow bark.

 

[oliver90owner]

1g by vapourisation. Thatedbe 'bout a couple hundred grams of leaves, thats all. Is that c.0.5% dryweight or as picked?

Regards, RAB

 

[newportbuzz]

1g by vapourisation. Thatedbe 'bout a couple hundred grams of leaves, thats all. Is that c.0.5% dryweight or as picked?

Regards, RAB

im asuming thats picked weight heres a page on it
http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/poison

 

[newportbuzz]

i wonder is it in the rhubarb pollen aswell if it is i could collect some and dust the whole hive similarly to how its done with icing sugar but that might enter the food chain for the larvae

 

[Ouarda]

WHY????????

Just because you don't understand how to prepare it, or don't you think it works??

 

[Adam]

My rubarb leaves withered and died back months ago. Can you even get them, even if you convinced yourself it worked?

Adam

 

[MrB]

hi im sure its a daft question but i saw a youtube vid somewhere where a woman was using rhubarb leaves inbetween her super and brood chamber to encourage the bees to remove the leaf and so dose the hive with oxylic acid. i know the leaves can contain up to .5% oxylic acid aswell as a lot of other stuff and the dribble treatment for oxylic is 3% so is this even viable and does it do any good /or bad

you could also feed them on carrots! they contain OA and will help your bee's forrage in the dark!!!

 

[Skyhook]

WHY????????

Just because you don't understand how to prepare it, or don't you think it works??

No, as explained in the rest of my post, because there's no way of knowign how much active ingredient I'm getting.

 

[newportbuzz]

alright take the piss if you want but its a serious question. and i hasve some growing in my greenhouse so i have acess to leaves (not that i will use them too stringy this time of year)
id say the other chemiclas in rhubarb leaves will be the downfall of this idea. but i thought it was worth passing infront of people with more experiance than me to see what everyone thought. anyway thanks everyone for your advise think ill give this one a miss mabey try it out on a single bee with a mite on see what appns.

 

[oliver90owner]

OK, boys and girls. Do bees eat rhubarb leaves? I think not. I think they would be cut up (maybe chewed a bit) and deposited by the hygienic bees, some distance from the hive. Just like polystyrene insulation from inside the hive.

Regards, RAB

 

[fincaazul]

OK, boys and girls. Do bees eat rhubarb leaves? I think not. I think they would be cut up (maybe chewed a bit) and deposited by the hygienic bees, some distance from the hive. Just like polystyrene insulation from inside the hive.

Regards, RAB

The purpose of the forum is surely to air new ideas, however wacky they may seem. replies from those with more experience can only be helpful in the learning experience. So, guys and gals, let's be positive in our replies, and pass on our knowledge and practical experience without passing judgement on those who are less knowledgable.

 

[newportbuzz]

OK, boys and girls. Do bees eat rhubarb leaves? I think not. I think they would be cut up (maybe chewed a bit) and deposited by the hygienic bees, some distance from the hive. Just like polystyrene insulation from inside the hive.

Regards, RAB

but wouldnt that expose some bees and some varroa to the leaves sap etc?

 

[Finman]

hi im sure its a daft question but i saw a youtube vid somewhere where a woman was using rhubarb leaves inbetween her super and brood chamber to encourage the bees to remove the leaf and so dose the hive with oxylic acid. i know the leaves can contain up to .5% oxylic acid aswell as a lot of other stuff and the dribble treatment for oxylic is 3% so is this even viable and does it do any good /or bad

that is the most stupid i have ever seen. As stupid is to nurse mynth around hives.
Oa is inside of plant cells and have no contact to mite. and it has allmost 15% of demanded value.

 

[Finman]

The purpose of the forum is surely to air new ideas, however wacky they may seem. replies from those with more experience can only be helpful in the learning experience. So, guys and gals, let's be positive in our replies, and pass on our knowledge and practical experience without passing judgement on those who are less knowledgable.

one fool can ask more than ten wise can answer

 

[Polyanwood]

I have heard about old beekeepers putting walnut leaves above the crownboard, but not of anyone using rhubarb leaves.

 

[Skyhook]

From http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/rheum_x_hybridum.htm

...the leaves are highly toxic. They contain oxalic acid in the form of oxalates which is widely believed to be the poison but there is evidence that these are insufficient to cause the known fatalities. There are reasons to believe that it is anthraquinone alkaloids which are to blame...

From http://www.beedisorder.com (talking about CCD)

a few of the species known to be mildly toxic to poisonous to bees (and humans). These plants nectar’s are known to include toxic or poisonous substances including alkaloids, anthraquinones, grayanotoxin and andromedotoxin.

I'll leave it alone.