The Chemistry Behind Feeding Bees Part 1
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- A presentation at the Macon County Beekeepers in Franklin North Carolina on the chemistry and mechanics of feeding bees.
Fat Bees Skinny Bees.
www.agrifuture...
George Imirie's PINK PAGES
pinkpages.chris...
Feeding Bees Sucrose Syrup vs HFCS
• Feeding Bees Sucrose S...
Comparison of productivity of colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera, supplemented with sucrose or high fructose corn syrup
pubmed.ncbi.nl....
Hi Bob. My name is Larry Jennings, I live in SW Virginia, and have been a beekeeper for over 50 of my 90 plus years. Amazingly, even though for many of those 50 years I was active in the Blue Ridge Beekeepers Assn. (Roanoke, VA.). both going through the chairs and teaching new as well as advanced beekeepers, I still nearly every day learn something new about beekeeping either from working with the bees or watching videos on You Tube, many of which you have produced. You have a clear voice (I'm partially deaf) and your delivery is impeccable. Just wanted to let you know this and that I'll continue looking forward to your programs on You Tube. Best wishes and continued success to you and yours!
Hi Larry. Thanks for the kind words and I'm very impressed that you are still active with bees at over 90 years old. 👍
Good for you. God Bless and I pray you have many more years working with the bees. 😊
Particularly interesting and important data for the activity of raising and exploiting bee families. Thank you Mr. Binnie for your kindness in putting such valuable information into the public domain. I follow you with great interest from Romania (EU).
Much respect!
Mihai Catrina
Dada da all the best from Cluj to same part of europa
Nu prea mă am cu engleza .. poți să mă ajuți să îmi spui ce cantitate de apa oxigenata / litru trebuie pentru a distruge nosema ? Știu că e in acest video..mersi , duminică plăcuta !
This lecture gives us a lot to think about. Thanks, Bob.
Thank you Bob for your wealth of information that you share. These videos that you and others are producing will have a lasting effect on the industry of beekeeping, be it as a hobbyist or someone trying to make a living off the bugs in a box!
BOB is the Man! I took his advise and have been feeding extra thin sugar for weeks to draw wax, just started adding 2-oz of ultrabee per colony and brood increased just like spring time. I'm in a similar climate and summer derth is the reason I am going to Carniolan type queens and rearing them for splits.
A GREAT video. I felt like thinner syrup was more prodictive in my hives but never had any proof. Thanks for all you do for beekeeping Bob!!!
Bob, this is maybe one of your best and most interesting report you offered us! Txs for all those video.
Been watching you for a year now, went ahead and fed only sugar water to our 2000 hive operation… HUGE difference in the bees, been going down to California for pollination with the bees ready to go right into the almonds. Thanks Bob, you are way ahead of these other guys.
I am planning to have 1000 hives and I have now 100 could you tell me how you managed it
As always, a well presented and well researched video from you Bob. Thanks from the uk.
What?!?! We gotta wait for part 2?!?! I ain't patient when it comes to my weekly dose of BBBTv (Bob Binnie Bees TV).
Thx for the video tho. I will not so patiently await part 2.
Very interesting Bob. Thanks for taking the time to share these videos.
Ditto.
Been watching your uploads...you are not a good bees guru...but the BEST! Keep it up!. More blessings for you and the rest of your group.
It,s a gold information , thanks, in our region , in Romania , Est of europe , it's a very high comercial input of this corn syrup, and this video coming like a very powerful information , don't doooo this , sugar sirop 1:1 it,s our religion , but now y learned something very high and good information, thanks Bob from a beeginer, y didn't some screenshots, and if you let me, y sharing with my country beekeeper
Yes, thank you.
Thanks Bob. Great pres.
Hi. Thanks a lot Bob. I have been a beekeeper for almost 60 years and I can see that I still have more to learn. All good.
Thanks Bob Great talk!
I've heard different versions of this presentation and enjoy them all. This one has taken it to the next level. Feeding bees has long been of great interest to me and I believe many folks are ignorant of the information you have masterfully compiled here. Looking forward to the next in the series. Thank you
Thanks.
Excellent information 👍 nice job on your presentation Sir. Hope your doing well. Thanks, good health and God bless
👍 thanks.
To obtain an additional amount of bee, I use 2 parts water and one part sugar. It seems to me the best combination.
Hello bob off subject but … would you do Video on the Chris Warner towels you are trying this year ? I implemented those into my operation as soon as I saw it on Fla series’s you did , I must say I’ve seen mass improvement on my colonies health . I’d sure like hear your experience . I m using in same fashion you are in conjunction with mite treatment. Last year I had some high mite loads , DFWV In couple colonies , that towel and brood break cleared up DFWV and the colonies survived winter and wowed me in spring! I’m convinced there are great benefits to that towel in healing mite damage . Just my observation . God bless and again thank you for all you do for beekeeping community!
We've been starting our treatment regimen with a towel like Chris showed but we have not been adding the camphor. Like you our bees seem to do well with it. My thoughts are that it is the tea tree oil that provides the most benefit but I have no way of knowing for sure.
Once again an outstanding video. I used your advice and fed a thinner mixture this year with good results. I really appreciate all of your knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Al, thanks.
I, working whit sugar to now in late sumer and in spring i use a 1.7 L water for 1 kg sugar..beeing in Romania we use this not pounds .....
Very good information Bob. Thank you for sharing this with us.
If you feed bees pollen, you should feed them SPIRULINA based patties. The Spirulina pollen is actually healthier for the bees than regular flower pollen. Now if your feeding them a replacement for nectar, one of the best is SWEET SORGHUM and the pollen from this grain crop is very good too. The best thing about sweet sorghum is it doesn't needs a lot of water or care. You can plant a lot of it, in the south it will grow year round. The grain is harvested for humans, the sugars from the stalks can feed bees, humans and even become an fuel alcohol, plus the left over stalks are great feed for cows, sheep or goats.
Look for more natural products to set your bees up for success (Spirulina is a natural occuring algea).
Dear Mr. Binnie, I appreciate your efforts to educate beekeepers around the world, Personally, I learn a great deal from your videos and I am eternally grateful for this content. If you could please find a minute to consider this: occasionally I am having sirop spoilage problems. Are you personally using or can recommend some measure that will delay the sugar syrup spoilage. I read about beekeepers using chlorine or adding a mixture of thymol with alcohol. Could you please address this here or in some upcoming video. I look forward to an answer to this problem, thank you very much for your time.
Tirla, while I don't have Bob's experience with bees, I am a microbiologist. You can add about a teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of syrup to extend shelf life. This is similar chlorine concentration to treated municipal water supply. But it will only gain a week or two storage. You are better served making only as much as you need. Also, I always boil my water before adding the sugar. For context, I have 10 hives.
Wonderful presentation, Bob. This is the type of information that beekeepers need, both new and old. Best wishes from up north and "thank you" for the education. 🐝🐝
That agrifutures site was flagged by my antivirus as compromised by hackers and being used as a host for spreading malware.
Bob, Your explanation seems to confer with colonies raising low amounts of brood when they should be producing winter bees in the Fall.- even while having large amounts of capped honey above the brood area and little food on the brood frames. Now this makes sense. I also like the connection of sucrose syrup to counter stress diseases. Thank you!
Thanks Bob for your videos! I am suscribed to your channel and always waiting for new ones. The ones dedicated to feeding bees are powerful information for us. Greetings from Costa Rica! Guess you know where it is...
Thank you.
Hi Bob, glad you found that India study ;) In regards to pools. I live in the suburbs and have kept 4 hives literally 5' from my 18' pool and other then the occasional drop from an undertaker on the cover, never had an issue with bees "swimming" or anyone getting stung. I do have a small fountain with stones about 50' away (not really used by them) and woods/creek about a half mile away.
Fantastic talk! Thank you for uploading this invaluable stuff.
If one accepts the theory that one of the less predictable triggers for swarming is a queen who is slowing-down egg production just as there is a large surplus of young nurse-bees who then have nothing to do (as proposed by Snelgrove) could the thin syrup be used at the right time of year to boost egg production and help prevent swarming? Timing might be quite difficult, but in principle...
Man. All this great info you share!! I don’t know why you don’t have more subscribers
This year I have been using 1:2 in my splits and nucs....very thin to win😎😎😎😎
Bob that was VERY well communicated! But... how do you keep bees out of the neighbors pool? Asking for a friend 😉 and when would you feed 2:1?
Excellent video Bob!
Yes we also would like the swimming pool fix! Maybe you could make a video about it. It’s a big problem for us!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!!
Jeff Albright
We will post that on UA-cam soon. I would feed 2 to 1 if I needed to put weight on fast before it got to cold.
Hi Jeff. We are going to post that on UA-cam soon. Thanks
GREAT INFO,,i thought my honey was bad when i put some frames with honey out for them to rob
Hey Bob. Here in my part of the world we have wing stem along with the golden rod and next time I come the store. I will have to ask your wife about how to keep bees out of the swimming pool.
The presence of sugar syrup for more than 3 days leads to the need to know what to do to control the fermentation of the sugar syrup
I loved this video, I learned a lot. I’ve been leaving all the fall honey on my hives, plus loading them with fondant I made from refined sugar. In the spring the sugar would be gone, and honey would be left. Bee preferences you talk about here helped explain that.
We have a very shallow bird bath that we feed sucrose to 4 hive’s because the bees in the hives have gone mostly wild which we will work on next spring this is a.Texas we are in a drought & nothing is blooming
Excellent talk, thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for great information, would you please share how to keep the bees out of a pool? I’ve also been told to move an apiary for that reason
We plan on putting out a short video on that soon. Thanks.
I love your videos as they are loaded with tremendous information. I often take notes and watch your presentations several times to help things sink in.
This guy is the Bob Ross of beekeeping.
I want to benefit from your experiences and I hope you will help and guide me
Am new to bee keeping, lost my first colony to doing things "by the books"....now into my second year and this time I feel armed and ready to do more to get my 2 new nucs ready for winter. We are from south central PA and everything in the PNW is so new to us plantwise/seasons, I have to relearn my entire environment. Am so glad I got 2 nucs this time round and feel like if one fails from my inexperience I can still have satisfaction of coming out of winter with one colony and keep learning! I too feel the 2:1 was too much for my bees and backed it to 1:1. It seems to have paid off. Both queens are laying like mad and brood patterns look so nice. Next I have to learn to treat for mites, because I see those buggers lol I literally saw a bee bite a mite.
you might be thinking of hive beetles
HFCS is also GMO.... which is terrible
Hi Bob, thanks for the presentation. I am in St. Paul, MN. I have been taught to feed 2-1 in the fall.
This fall I will do the diluted mix. The science seem to support a lighter syrup.
Our winters are LONG. Did I say LONG? There are few cleansing flight opportunities in the winter.
You should look at Vino Farms youtube channel. The man has made a very great setup for bees brood boxes in the cold regions.
You have tough winters. It takes skill to get bees through up there.
@@JoSeeFuss could you put a link to that UA-cam chanel?
So it's a conclusion.
Sugar syrup with water is the best syrup for bees throughout the season No need to buy solutions that are sold in stores
Excellent video. Can't wait for part 2! Thanks Bob
I believe I remembering hearing that you kept bees in OR for several years. I live in WA and with our long wet winters one of our local master bee keepers raised the issue of fermentation with 2:1 sugar feeding. He is pretty opinionated about adding Thymol to the 2:1 so that fermentation doesn't happen. I don't recall every hearing you speak on this issue related to feeding. I have not needed to feed much 2:1 but find myself using 2:1 feeding more in the fall and am wondering if you have thoughts/experiences related to this issue? Thanks in advance.
Thymol and lemongrass oil will both slow fermentation. Honey B Healthy contains lemongrass and Mann Lake's Pro Health contains both. The one advantage to straight thymol is that it doesn't cause robbing like lemongrass. There is a process, with additives, to get both thymol and lemongrass to blend with syrup. They don't blend well without a little help. You can find information on this by searching online. This fermentation problem is one reason we like making our own syrup as needed and get it used fast. There have also been field studies showing that adding one cup of bleach to fifty gallons of syrup will also slow things down and oddly enough it doesn't seem to bother the bees at all.
Great information. Enjoyed the video. Thanks.
Fantastic, thank you great explanation 👍
Hi Bob, what can you say about Topioca Syrup, is it possible to feed the bees with this syrup?
I'm not familiar with Topioca syrup so I couldn't say.
Nice
Always love your videos Sir. So informative! One specific question I have after watching this video is in regards to your comment about sucrose degrading to the point of becoming unhealthy for the bees. Given temps of 75-90, how long can sucrose stay in those temps before it starts to break down and become unhealthy for the bees. Thanks in advance.
Hi Dan. I don't know the exact answer but we see a difference in quality within weeks in warm temperatures, even if it has bleach or Honey-B-Healthy in it. As long as it hasn't fermented I would guess a month or two before it would become hard on the bees health. That's one of the reasons we make our own as we need it.
This is one of the most interesting videos on beekeeping I've watched. I have a question...I got 2 packages this year. The bees just won't build on my frames in the medium box. I'm newish...and I don't have any drawn comb for medium boxes. Can I feed to motivate the bees to draw more comb at this time of the year? If so, what ratio should I use? If you have time...any suggestions on getting them to draw comb?
Yes you can. Just be careful not to let the sugar water mix with any harvested honey that comes later. For drawing foundation we like 1.5 parts water x 1 part sugar. It doesn't have to be exact, anything close will do.
The h2o2 is a part of the ROS. These substances are discussed as detrimental on cellular basis in organism. They mostly appear in incomplete physiological pathways caused by Biotic and abiotic stresses.
Hives having an increased ros level should be an indicator for unhealthy conditions according To my expectation
How can i learn and understand that it‘s an advantage in the bee physiology?
There are currently research being done on this subject. Although it won't answer your question you may find my talk with Lewis Bartlett about feeding interesting. He knows a lot more about it than I do. "Feeding Bees Sucrose Syrup vs HFCS". ua-cam.com/video/NejQLVLT9Ic/v-deo.html
Thanks Bob, appreciate the research. Do you happen to have the PDF for the study that was conducted on "Effect of sugar syrup on bee health" - I cannot seem to find it online and the link I did find, seems to be broken. Thanks.
Send an email to my email address on the "about" page of this channel and I'll send it to you.
@@bobbinnie9872 Will do, thanks Bob.
Hi Bob. What about feeding with last year’s honey, which was extracted and stored in the freezer over the winter due to high moisture levels? Is it ok to feed it 1:1 in the spring or is sugar syrup better? I don’t know what to do with that honey. Thanks.
Honey can be fed back to bees but it can ferment or go rancid easily when diluted. You could counter this with one teaspoon of bleach in a gallon or heat the honey enough to kill any yeast present. I wouldn't mix up any more at a time than what the bees could use quickly.
Mr benny. In this video you give us two advices. One way you said more water than sugar the other way you said more sugar than water. Which is it please I'll follow every one of your videos.
It depends on what you want to achieve. Thinner syrup is best for stimulating colonies to produce brood and comb. Thicker syrup is best for putting on weight.
Thanks for taking the time to post these videos!
Thank you for getting the truth out there . . . . Honey is "canned" sugar concentrated with preservatives and is designed for long storage not highly balanced nutrition. Which is better for you a ripe apple, freshly cooked pie or year old applesauce.
People in the bee business with high production aren't looking at the natural best way to keep bees.
There are simple crops to plant that are great sources of pollen, nectar and super healthy for the bee.
What do you think about the inverted sugar syrop, is it better than the sucrose syrop, specifically for the autumn feeding?
I used to use a dry sugar that was partially inverted. It's called "Drivert" and the bees did well on it. I've not used any inverted syrup.
Really rounding out my bee knowledge, thank you Bob!
you mention adding a little bleach in one of your feeding videos what is the ratio per gallon or per 55 gallons to inhibit the fermentation. I always have an issue with it the pro health that has thymol seems to inhibit it a bit. I always hear bleach but never the amount.
One cup per drum.
Excellent information thank you
I desparately wish I could use bucket feeders here. For whatever reason, they just don't work. Either the bees can't get anything out of them or they drip constantly, flooding the hives. On the rare occasion that one does work properly, some animal comes and knocks it off the hive.
Thanks Bob I just mixed some up today 1-1.40 and put it on hives that have dwindled due to hive beetles hoping it will give them a reboot. N W Ohio
I hope it helps, good luck.
At the beginning of the breeding season, how much should I feed the bees 1 sugar with 1.5 water?
Every colony is different. We usually feed it until the natural nectar flow begins or the colony has enough weight to make it until the flow starts.
Are the three enzymes that you add sold, or is the bee the one who converts sugar with these enzymes from its body? If the enzymes are sold, give me where they are sold and how to add them to the sugar solution
The bees make the enzymes.
Thank you for posting this Bob
The content we backyard beekeepers absolutely need: keeping bees out of the pool. Mrs. Binnie, please share!
Coming soon. Thanks.
Need all information about the pool issue.
So I bought some sucrose syrup. Is this stuff mixed with water? 1:1 or is that only with “table sugar”
The commercial sucrose syrup that is most often purchased is approximately two parts sugar to one part water.
are you talking weight or volume when you say 1:1 or 1:1.5?
Either one will work because the weight of sugar and water are close to the same. A gallon of sugar is almost the same weight as a gallon of water.
Hi Bob, My name is Bjorn Gustavsson from Sweden. According to your seminar it is imported to feed the bees with 40-50% sugar syrup in order promote egg laying. Does it work the same if I use honey and dilute it with water? That will remind about nectar.
I have not used diluted honey but it could work. I'm not sure.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks a lot for answering
What is "thin syrup" acroding to you? 1:1? 1.25:1? 1.5:1?
I would consider 1.25 and 1.5:1 thin.
Can I feed the bees 2 water with 1 sugar and what is the appropriate time for this or do we prefer 1.5 water instead of 2 water
2 water and 1 sugar would be fed when you want to stimulate brood rearing and wax production. 1.5 water will do the same thing but the bees will gain weight faster.
Where can we find the graph that shows the H2O2 contents? If there is supporting documentation on that study that would be fantastic.
As an aside my buddy is a vet in the army and he mentioned as part of their training they would field dress wounded K9's with honey. This H202 information seems to make that make sense.
Watch our video with Lewis Bartlett. "Feeding Bees Sucrose Syrup vs HFCS". ua-cam.com/video/NejQLVLT9Ic/v-deo.html it has more information. Thanks.
I feed the bees in the spring tomorrow when the hive is strong and I put one liter to consume in one night is this good for bees or not.
This should be fine.
Are they attracted to the chlorine or the chemicals produced when chlorine and urine mixed together?
I'm not sure what about chlorine is attractive to them.
@@bobbinnie9872 I was listening to a UA-cam shirt from the sci show channel and Hank green was saying that the chlorine smell is from pee mixing with chlorine. Do you know if the bees are attracted to the smell of the chemicals? I will do a test to see. I’ll add bleach water a pee to one bowl and just bleach water in another and place them by my bee feeder and see the difference.
Is there any difference between cane sugar and beet sugar? I have been using cane sugar
Although I have never used beet sugar my understanding is that it works just fine.
Thank Bob good info. The wife and I will be in GA. In October for my son's wedding. I hope to have time to make it up to your area and get to visit with you and your company.
Thanks Bob!
Thanks Bob the first link doesn't seem to work?
Thanks for letting me know. One space was off. I believe it works now. If you still have trouble let me know.
Parabéns pelo seu trabalho,vc é um grande profissional na Apicultura,assisto todos os seus videos.
Obrigada.
Hi Bob, How do you prevent black mold in your feeder buckets? Thank you!
We do get some but we keep it to a minimum by using ether Honey B Healthy at the recommended dose or one teaspoon of bleach in our syrup.
What is the favorite month in which we start feeding bees?
March or April in our area.
What's the ratio when he's saying thin syrup?
One to one or thinner. We often use 1.3 water to 1 sugar.
Thank you for a very informative video!. Do you measure your sugar to water ratio by weight or by volume?
Weight, although it doesn't matter because sugar and water weigh close to the same.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you sir.
Do you prefer sugar beet sugar or cane
Although I'm told it's fine, I don't have any personal experience with beet sugar.
Hi Bob. Im a new beekeeper, how many holes do you drill on the bucket when feeding?
6 or 8 generally. 1/16 inch.
Oh my wondered why they are back filling the brood nest I drilled 30 holes, thanks for the information.👍
What about essential essences like lemon grass etc?
We do use lemon grass oil and other additives at times and I talk a little about this in "The Chemistry Behind Feeding Bees Part 2" ua-cam.com/video/P96pK2aNpM0/v-deo.html
Drone frame question: If you take a Drone frame from another colony, will the Queen in this hive mate with these Drones? Love learning from you Bob. Thanks
I don't think it would matter. The queen usually tries to fly farther than the drones from her own yard.
Thank you
Bob, do you recommend to pull the syrup the day you do an OA treatment….then resume after the treatment. I didn’t know of any issues of the OA concentrating in the syrup if you left the bucket in place.
I don't think there are any issues so we leave it on.
What are you calling "out dated" peppermint candy? We are putting peppermint candy in hives in the south to control SHB. Is this bad?
"Outdated" is a reference to old bulk candy sold cheap. Much candy has starch or other additives that are bad for bees. I would look at the ingredients very closely. Small amounts used for a special purpose probably doesn't raise too much concern. Also know that the type of sugar used may not be good for bees when used in quantities.
Could your wife tell me how to get the bees away from my chlorinated pool? I’m so worried my four year old granddaughter is going to get stung.
Thank you so much!
We're going to post a short video on that soon.
Are these ratios by weight or volume?
Water and granulated sugar weigh nearly the same so both weight and volume will work.
Why does a bucket feeder have a more stimulatory effect on bees than the hive top feeders?
The bucket with the right type of plug gives a steady flow which the bess can expand with whereas a hive-top can be a fast dump of syrup which plugs the brood nest.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you!! That makes sense!
Ha Bob I enjoyed the video I have a question that has nothing to do with feeding I have been feeding since I removed the honey on fathers day I am giving them pollen patties as well and have treated in june with formic pro and am treating again with apivar,, as I write this, I hit them with formic pro the day I took off the suppers I can not see good and I use a flash light to check for small larva to make sure I have a queen well I seen mites with the flash light going in and out the comb I have never seen anything like that before and I treated asap. this is a what would u do question. say It is spring and u are doing inspections say u have 8 frames of capped brood in the hive it is the first week of march the flow starts 2nd week of April how many frames of brood do u take out how many do u want in there to get the best honey crop. with out the swarming. I hope you Keep the videos coming they are great. I look forward to seeing some thing from u every week. Thanks and have a blessed week
Hi Frances. 1-1/2 weeks from the honey flow I would probably want to see 4 frames of brood.