Seaweed additive

[steve1958]

I attended a Webinar on Facebook last night given by the people from hivealivebees.
As well as finding the presentation to be very informative I won a bottle of HiveAlive.
How good is that.

There is another webinar on Thursday 18th February at 11pm

This is an international broadcast with people from as far a field as Australia attending hence the late GMT time.

I was considering feeding HiveAlive to my bees back last autumn but didn't have sufficient information to persuade me to do so.
I now have that information as well as a free bottle, so will be adding it to my Springtime feed.

Hopefully I will be able to report back the results.

 

[pargyle]

Some people swear by it ... others think it snake oil. Can't wait to hear what you think of it after using it .. more so a it was a freebie !! The one thing you can be sure of ... there's nothing much in it that will do any harm ... although ...is it considered as legit by the VMD now ? I thought it had been removed from sale in the UK ...

 

[The Poot]

Some people swear by it ... others think it snake oil. Can't wait to hear what you think of it after using it .. more so a it was a freebie !! The one thing you can be sure of ... there's nothing much in it that will do any harm ... although ...is it considered as legit by the VMD now ? I thought it had been removed from sale in the UK ...

I think it was Hiveclean that was banned. I’ve used Hivealive and not seen any negatives from it - hard to judge positives.
Originally it was “approved” by Hivemaker - I don’t know if he has an interest in it now though.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It used to have thymol in it - that was about the only active/beneficial ingredient

 

[steve1958]

Thymol, Lemon Grass, and seaweed.
The seaweed is the main beneficial ingredient.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The seaweed is the main beneficial ingredient.

Why? what does it do?

 

[steve1958]

It appears that it helps the bees fight disease by supporting their gut health, which would help protect them from Nosema.
The charts showed to us during the webinar showed that colonies fed seaweed additives grew stronger, producing more honey, and suffered less Nosema.
I am guessing healthier Queens produce healthier brood for longer.
A stronger colony stands more chance of ridding itself of wax moth and preventing other insects invading the nest, including wasps.
There was probably more than this shared with us during the webinar so it will be worth your time watching it.
So unless the presenters had set out to deceive us, which I doubt, then this is definitely worth a try.
Especially so for me as it was a free gift.
I am aware that seaweed is eaten by humans, and added to animal feed.
It is also used in medicine.
Did you know that Boots chemist market an inhaler that contains seaweed and helps reduce the risk of catching colds and flue.
I only found this out when reading a news article about Swansea university running a research study to show the beneficial effects of front line NHS staff using Boots Dual Defence spray as another layer of protection against Covid.
Seaweed is also used in some medical dressings.
And some gardeners use it to feed their plants.

So I am feeling enthusiastic about trying this on my bees.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'll say it again - the active ingredient (which has been scientifically proven to combat nosema) is Thymol - the rest is just snakeoil

 

[AubMar]

It appears that it helps the bees fight disease by supporting their gut health, which would help protect them from Nosema.
The charts showed to us during the webinar showed that colonies fed seaweed additives grew stronger, producing more honey, and suffered less Nosema.
I am guessing healthier Queens produce healthier brood for longer.
A stronger colony stands more chance of ridding itself of wax moth and preventing other insects invading the nest, including wasps.
There was probably more than this shared with us during the webinar so it will be worth your time watching it.
So unless the presenters had set out to deceive us, which I doubt, then this is definitely worth a try.
Especially so for me as it was a free gift.
I am aware that seaweed is eaten by humans, and added to animal feed.
It is also used in medicine.
Did you know that Boots chemist market an inhaler that contains seaweed and helps reduce the risk of catching colds and flue.
I only found this out when reading a news article about Swansea university running a research study to show the beneficial effects of front line NHS staff using Boots Dual Defence spray as another layer of protection against Covid.
Seaweed is also used in some medical dressings.
And some gardeners use it to feed their plants.

So I am feeling enthusiastic about trying this on my bees.

I would be a strong advocate for hivealive because I have seen the side by side difference of with and without.
There are many opinions as to what it does and I have to say I was a sceptic before I tried it but the results were very good.
Do let us know how it works out for you after a season.

 

[Erichalfbee]

the rest is just snakeoil

I’m thinking perhaps a simple balanced diet does the trick as far as a bee’s microbiome is concerned; varied nectar and pollen as opposed to monocultures

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Did you know that Boots chemist market an inhaler that contains seaweed and helps reduce the risk of catching colds and flue.

Never seen a bee with a cold - or influenza

 

[Lizbee]

I have seen beevital varroamed advertised as the successor to hiveclean. Doe anyone know if it is approved? or if it is any good?

 

[ChrisS]

It's oxalic acid. Approved, and therefore very expensive, trickling strength oxalic acid in sugar solution with a dash of formic acid.

From the package leaflet:
"Each ml contains:
Formic acid 5 mg
Oxalic acid dihydrate 44 mg (equivalent to 31.42 mg oxalic acid)"

Many beekeeping sources advise no more than one application of trickled oxalic acid in a bee's lifetime. Varromed instructions specify up to 5 applications at 6-day intervals. That's why the leaflet also says:
"6. ADVERSE REACTIONS
Increased mortality in worker bees was very commonly observed in the clinical and preclinical trials following treatment with VarroMed. This effect is considered to be associated with the oxalic acid in VarroMed, and increased with increasing doses and/or repeated treatments."

It will kill varroa mites for sure. It will also kill bees and it will significantly lighten your wallet. Oh, and you can't use it when there's a nectar flow or you have supers on the hive.

Much more information is available in the European Medicines Agency public assessment report VarroMed - European Medicines Agency

 

[Lizbee]

Oh dear, back to the drawing board then.

 

[ChrisS]

There are many other treatments for varroa which work well and don't drain your wallet. Search this forum and you'll find many and varied opinions!