essential oils in syrup

[alpha6]

Alpha6

thanks for your recipes! I only have 4 hives to work with so I don't think I need such a big recipe, but I'll figure out the numbers to make it more manageable.

As far as using the brewers yeast, I'll probably get the dry. How much water do I add to it to make it liquid?

Also, do you have problems with the Essentials oils not mixing well with the liquid brewers yeast? I would think you'd need to use the lecethin in the patty recipe as well as the syrup recipe?

Thanks!

I would mix the dry brewers yeast and the sugar together then slowly add warm/hot water to the mix to get the right consistency. I would then add the EO's and mix really well. I haven't had any problem with the EO's mixing in my patties and haven't had to use lecethin in this mix.

[alpha6]

for those who like to see how the patties are made up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26959541@N06/

[odfrank]

When you have your breakfast I bet there is a laxative, an aspirin, a sleeping and a painkiller pill in your coffee.

The crap people on this board feed their bees is shameful. It's really wacked out.

[Hambone]

I feed a quart in the spring and one in the fall. I feed 1:1 to my nucs in the spring but without the thyme in it, as much as they will take till they get built up. With the liquid you won't need to spend anytime at the stove. The hot water from your tap should be hot enough to dissolve the sugar fine.

Why do you leave the thyme out in the spring feed.

[alpha6]

Derek I do feed the first quart with thymol. But subsequent feedings I don't and here is why. Even though technically the mites will not build up a resistence to EO's which include thymol, I don't want to give them any ground to do so. The lemongrass and spearmint will strengthen the bees making them better in the long run and if mites should appear I will then hit it with the thymol.

I will say the things I do are an on going experiment towards getting the bees in the best, strongest condition and I am constantly tweaking the system as I learn more and see what works and what doesn't. Consider what I pass on as a guild line and take what works for your bees and disregard the rest.

Still great to ask questions...gets me to re-think how I do things also.

[Hambone]

Thanks Alpha.

[alpha6]

Hey guys. I have been experimenting with my liquid formula and found that the bees seem to take the 1:1 with a lesser amount of EO's then my original formula. I have modified it as follows.

2 Quarts of Water
2 Quarts of Sugar
12 drops of thyme oil
28 drops of lemongrass oil
28 drops of spearmint oil
3 teaspoons of Soy Lecithin Granules

Like I said I noticed that with this formula the bees took to about twice as fast as the old one (may have been too strong taste and smell wise) and given sugar water with EO's or plain about 98% of the bees went for the sugar water with the EO's. (I suspect the other couple that went to the plain sugar water just couldn't get a place on the feeder.)

Hope this helps. I will let you guys know if there are any further developments. (The pattie mixes are being consumed with no problems and bees are all over them.)

[Blitzz]

Has anyone tried using xanthan gum instead of lecithin as the emulsifier?

[Bud Dingler]

The crap people on this board feed their bees is shameful. It's really wacked out.

What's amusing is that there is zero for much science behind all of this EO use in supplemental feeding.

I call it feel good beekeeping. Beekeepers feel better if they are giving their bees something.

I have gotten to the point I hardly even feed syrup before winter in most of my hives even here in Wisco. They get no treatments and no antibiotics either. Think of all the extra time and money I have saved not pursuing this nonsense.

The one place I use inputs is in queen rearing. Feed fumdil to all of the colonies used in queen rearing. I also use some pollen sub for starter hives but thats it for me. Its just money down the road feeding all of that crap. Wild bees never had that stuff.

Stick with the basics and develop a management style that minimizes inputs.

[Axtmann]

Bud Dingler your 100% right.

IMO a BEEKEEPER would never put all that junk in his hives. I bet, if someone comes up with a recipe mixture of mustard, flour, peanut butter and valerian drops, lots of people would feed it too.

[jean-marc]

So Axtmann how many drops of valerian in your recipe?

Jean-Marc

[brooksbeefarm]

I'll have to say that i tried Alpha6's patties,spray and feed on some of my hives and they are almost if not mite free and stronger than my other hives These are ES oils not hard chemicals the bees will work the flowers of thyme,spearment and lemongrass if they have access to them. Wish i had treated all of them now, the ones that wasn't treated will have to be fed. Jack

[alpha6]

Thanks brooksbeefarm and glad it is working out for you. Slowly people are starting to see results from working their hives without chemicals and I think that it's not only great for the beeks but also to the heath of your bees.

I was talking to a guy yesterday that applied hivastan to his hives in the spring (he is running about 400). He got one of the worst crops ever and his bees just never built up and he couldn't figure out why. Samples of bees he sent to Penn State revealed nothing (though they just checked for mites, EFB and AFB) I suggested to him to try EO's next spring and lay off the hivastan and Mavrick...we will see. With light hives and bees that didn't fare well over the summer....I wish him the best going into winter.

[BarbieandKen]

Is it ok to use the EOs in grease patties? It looks like Alpha's patti recipe is not a grease patty recipe....And do people add the grease patti now if, like me, they are in the cold area of the US? thanks, B-

[Oberlinmom]

I'm probably the only person that doesn't know this.....what is the difference between "essential oils" and just oil or extracts?

[Bens-Bees]

You're not the only person. I would like to know the difference as well.

[dragonfly]

The Wiki definition of essential oils:

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not as a group need to have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying characteristic fragrances. They are not to be confused with essential fatty acids.
Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation. Other processes include expression, or solvent extraction. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics and bath products, for flavoring food and drink, and for scenting incense and household cleaning products.

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[Nick Noyes]

Has anyone broke Alphas Syrup recipe into larger quantities (teaspoons or cups instead of drops)?

[Hambone]

Nick. What I have witten down is 15 drops ='s 1/4 tsp.

[Nick Noyes]

Thanks
I will convert it up.