Honey B Healthy

[Ian]

Hey all,

Listened to a speaker on Honey B Healthy a few days ago. The talk really caught my interests, and the claims being made caught my attention. But alot of what was being said didnt have any science to back it. Most all the claims were being made from personal and antedotal experiences.

Does anyone have any information that they could lead me to that would help back up some of the claims made on this product?
Perhaps any personal experiences from beekeepers on this fourm?
Any tips on administration of the product in the feed? Amount and recomendations on the treatment of Honey B Healthy?

Thanks all for your help,

[Brent Bean]

My own personal experience is they will consume syrup faster with HBH than without. And I tried both in the same hives to test this. Another advantage is your syrup will virtually never mildew. I have had bucket feeder set around the barn for several months with some syrup left in them without mildewing. Before you buy HBH check out homemade formulas I bought the ingredients and make if for a fraction of the store bought version.
Do a search on this site you should be able to find it.

[Ian]

The claims that I heard being made was complete control of t mites when used in grease patties, elimination of nosema, reduction of v mites,
That and increased consumption of surip,

[Ian]

Here is an informative web page, to those interested,

www.beecare.com/indexDynFrames.htm?http://www.beecare.com/DiseasesMedications/Honey-B-Healthy.htm&1

[Gene Weitzel]

The claims that I heard being made was complete control of t mites when used in grease patties, elimination of nosema, reduction of v mites,
That and increased consumption of surip,

Ian, if you notice they purport HBH to contain "essential oils such as lemon grass and spearmint". Thymol is also considered an "essential oil" and is not specifically stated, nor is it specifically eliminated as an ingredient to HBH. Its not a "scientific analysis" but when I sniffed HBH, my nose definitely detected a hint of thymol odor. If in fact my nose is accurate and depending on the concentration, there may be some scientific basis to their claims.

[Ian]

Cool,

Even when I was sitting there listening to the speak, I could help myself to be pulled into what was being said. there was testomony given, that counts for something, but not everything. But the product is expensive, and if beekeepers down south continue to use tonnes of it every year, it must have some measurable sucesses.

My supplier has got some availiable, from this speaker, (my I add did a great job of demonstrating his product, and help in conducting a Nosema workshop after)
I might just try some to see for myself.
If not for anything else but to help with my queen introductions! That would make all the difference in the world!

[Dave W]

A "search" (on BeeSource) should bring up a receipe for "homemade" HBH, it has has been posted many time in the past.

[Nick Noyes]

We just finished feeding all of our hives HBH. We put a quart of HBH to 50 gal. syrup. The bees seemed to take the syrup readily. It did clean our feed tanks and smells nice.
We won't know for sure if it helped until we go back and check next month. If it does half of what I was told it will do it is worth $.50 a hive.

[Brent Bean]

Ian:

Here is the recipe I have to make your own HBH you can find the ingredients at most health stores. Other than they will consume it faster and it will prevent mold, all the other claims are unsubstantiated an I wouldn’t risk my hives on what is claimed to be a silver bullet, because there isn’t any such thing. But it could play a part in a good integrated pest management program. Remember don’t feed HBH when your ssurplus supers are on or your honey will taste like lemongrass.




Here's a recipe to make your essential oils like honey bee healthy. I just make my own, no big deal.
General Purpose Essential Oil Mixture
The following recipe should work about as well as honeybee healthy, yet prove to be cheaper. It can be added in small quantities to feed to encourage feeding, however it has been known to occasionally cause Robbing behavior due to its great appeal to bees.

5 cups water
2 ½ pounds of sugar
1/8 teaspoon lecithin granules (used as an emulsifier)
15 drops spearmint oil
15 drops lemongrass oil
Bring the water to a boil and integrate the sugar until dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved remove the mixture from the heat and quickly add the lecithin and the essential oils. Stir until everything is evenly distributed. This solution should have a strong scent and not be left open around bees. Cool before using

[irwin harlton]

one of his statements was that "feeding fumidil B in open drums, THE FUMIDIL BREAKES DOWN WITHIN a hour ".........I didn't quite swallow that...I realize it does breake down when exposed to sunlight but i would think it would be a mater of days or weeks for sunlight to destroy all the fumidil in a drum of syrup
I also thought I heard him refer to it as snake oil

[Brent Bean]

Whenever I hear someone say I have a magic potion that will cure everything from A-Z a big red flag goes up. They normally will be the snake oil peddlers.
Dose Fumidil B break down in an hour I would think not I have never heard that claim before. Do I think HBH is beneficial Yes. Do I think it’s all you need to control all the nastiest things that kill my Bees absolutely NO. And if someone buys into that notion I think they will be disappointed in the results.

[Ian]

>>I also thought I heard him refer to it as snake oil


Ya, I heard him say that also :)

Now thats quite a sales pitch isnt it!

[Toby]

Hi! I'm new here and in my 2nd year of beekeeping....I only have two hives...I've read that it is helpful to add HoneyBHealthy to grease patties but I haven't seen any amounts specified...if I'm making a patty with 1/4 cup Crisco:1/4 cup sugar, how much HBH would you add?
Thanks for any help you can give!

[Brent Bean]

I quit using grease patties, the bees never seemed to be interested in them. The Small Hive Beetles loved them. I started to use Mite Away-II in spring and fall which not only controls Varroa but also Tracheal mites as well.

[BjornBee]

Sure using essential oils help with mites, etc. Anytime you place a foreign smell into a hive, whether thats honey b Healthy or anything else, the bees will go into an increased mite grooming/hygienic behavior phase.

I would use caution in using anything long term or repeated enough where long-term interference may be seen as reasons to supersede the queen, cause problems with normal pheromone communications (anything from queen to brood pheromone), and also what the contamination factor of wax and honey would be from long-term use. I know some who use it to calm the bees when doing inspections as they spray the bees. But I think feeding syrup laced with the stuff or year-round grease patties is something to avoid.

The claims of Honey B Healthy are some of the same claims by thymol users, smoke users of certain products (tobacco, etc.) and whatever else can be thrown into the mix. It simply comes down to the bees wanted to rid themselves of foreign smells that interfere with hive communications and normal, or should I say "natural" balance in the hive. I laugh for the number of people who want a more natural way of doing things, but yet are so eager to throw items into a hive that obviously are not natural to the bees, and impede the natural state of the hive in so many ways.

But certainly such products can be used effectively. I know there are options a lot cheaper than honey b healthy that are just as effective if you want the same impact, contamination, or results.

I do not agree with their claims, their negative selling tactics, or the casual use of those who truly do not realize the full consequences of long-term and continual use of such products.

[Toby]

Thank you so much for your input. Last year, my hive failed in December...prior to that, I had had bees crawling on the ground & my bee mentor advised me to use the patties for tracheal mites...the bees ate the patties and my check for varroa mites showed less than 40 after 24 hrs., so I did not think they were a problem....nevertheless, they absconded, leaving lots of honey behind and almost no dead bees on the bottom board....I don't know what happened....this year, I have two hives & installed the nucs about a month ago...one is not thriving; the other is doing great....however, I have seen a few bees crawling on the ground, so I want to do whatever I should to get rid of tracheal mites...do you think I should be more aggressive with treatment, other than grease patties? I am a novice and appreciate any help you can give me....BTW, I wrote to HBH about how much to add to a small patty and they wrote back saying they did not know but to try a few drops and let them know :rolleyes:

[BjornBee]

Thank you so much for your input. Last year, my hive failed in December...prior to that, I had had bees crawling on the ground & my bee mentor advised me to use the patties for tracheal mites...the bees ate the patties and my check for varroa mites showed less than 40 after 24 hrs., so I did not think they were a problem....nevertheless, they absconded, leaving lots of honey behind and almost no dead bees on the bottom board....I don't know what happened....this year, I have two hives & installed the nucs about a month ago...one is not thriving; the other is doing great....however, I have seen a few bees crawling on the ground, so I want to do whatever I should to get rid of tracheal mites...do you think I should be more aggressive with treatment, other than grease patties? I am a novice and appreciate any help you can give me....BTW, I wrote to HBH about how much to add to a small patty and they wrote back saying they did not know but to try a few drops and let them know :rolleyes:


If I was concerned with t-mites, I would use a thymol product that has the killing power to do the job fast. Grease patties, whether laced or not with whatever, is a long-term type treatment to maintain a low level of t-mites. I believe that api-gaird or api-life var are both good for t-mites (as well as v-mites), and will have just a normal window of treatment time that will allow the bees to adjust back to a normal post-treatment environment.

If t-mites are a problem and it is hard to diagnose without testing, then i would also consider changing the genetics of your bees. If they can not handle t-mites, then why just allow them to continue the same problem down the road.

[Toby]

I think I need to have my bees tested for t-mites and see what's going on...ApiGuard sounds like a good product - not too invasive and easy to use.
I have wondered about the genetics of my bees....I have been buying from the same man and he says his bees are t-mite free....he is a commercial beekeeper. I'll let you know what I find out.
Thank you again.