Bananas over Honey Bees

[Randy Ray]

With 14 vitamins and 11 minerals why isn't bananas the chosen food to feed honey bees over just sugar water, yeast and soy products. In comparison of sugar, versus pollen and nectar from flowers, seems to be as a junk food to bees, as Mc.Donolds is to humans.

Beside the odour of bananas, mimic the sting pheromone, I would think it would be a great emergency food for them, or to help winter them over until the colony becomes strong enough to sustain themselves naturally.

I'm sure this topic won't be popular for the bee food supplement makers, for bananas ready to throw out for being over ripe, is more cost effective, and no shipping cost besides being on ones routine trip to the grocery store.

Bananas mixed with honey turns on my idea light against their concoctions of bee patty food of grease and mold by-products. It is public knowledge that soy products are as bad to humans as MSG is. Surely that soy ingredient is passed on to the bee, "excuse the statement" therefor polluting their honey from eating it.

Furthermore I have fed my bees bananas cut in half, and it didn't cause them to become enraged outside of something foreign was placed on their top bars as any patty would do. One colony queen that was fed bananas laid publicly "right before my eyes" so I believe it needs a closer study for increase.

[mac]

How long have ya had bees?? How many hives do ya have??

[sqkcrk]

How long have you owned Stock in Chaquita?

[Gypsi]

I had to get some overripe bananas to build my yellow jacket trap. hmmm

Bees didn't touch their bee patty, it's now a little brick..

His stats say member since 2006, I think I will observe the situation.

[psfred]

Bees eat pollen (or protein that looks like pollen to them) and nectar, which is basically flavored water and sucrose solution. Bananas contain very large amounts of starch, which is not a food item to bees. In fact, they find it very hard or impossible to digest.

Other than the alarm pheremone (amyl acetate) present, bees will most likely totally ignore bananas. Of you want to feed, them, feed them what they use as food -- sucrose in water.

If your protein patty dried out and the bees ignored it, likely the had plenty of pollen -- they will use pollen over protein patties.

Peter

[BEES4U]

The % protein is very low in bananas!
2g/225 g serving

[Randy Ray]

How long have ya had bees?? How many hives do ya have??

How long have you owned Stock in Chaquita?

More into the topic. Do yaw agree or dissagree with my post needs more study, inspite of my Honey Bee Kungfu being strong and what products I may push?

[Randy Ray]

Bananas contain very large amounts of starch, which is not a food item to bees. In fact, they find it very hard or impossible to digest.

I have heard that about corn starch but not banana starch. I'd like to see the study on that. Corn as everyone should know who has observed the lavatory doesn't digest.

[hipbee]

randy ray im sure you could find someone willing to take your money and do a study on that!
my common sense tells me that if bannanas were good bee food someone would have accidently found that out 50 years ago.

[Randy Ray]

The % protein is very low in bananas!
2g/225 g serving

Is that protein percentage too low for bees? If it is honey blended into the banana could adjust that.

[Randy Ray]

randy ray im sure you could find someone willing to take your money and do a study on that!
my common sense tells me that if bannanas were good bee food someone would have accidently found that out 50 years ago.

I don't need to pay anyone to experiment and study on my own. As far as a new discovery in a 50 year span my common sense tells me there is a lot of discoveries that may have been over looked. It's actually not my brainchild to take the credit. I heard of it in a chat room stating it is used to combat chalk brood. So in a sense it is already a discovery.

[buhbee]

inspite of my Honey Bee Kungfu being strong

lol... What is Honey Bee Kungfu ?

[Randy Ray]

What is Honey Bee Kungfu ?

It's just a statement to show some people, that just because you don't own as many bee colonies as some here online, has got to be as dumb as a bag of hammers, when it comes to bees. In other words to rank me the instructor, student or hammer. In short a good grasp on honey bee keeping by experience only should be heard.

[mac]

. Do yaw agree or dissagree with my post needs more study,

Yes your post needs more study. And along those lines keep feeding your bees bananas and let us know the results

[mac]

It's just a statement to show some people, that just because you don't own as many bee colonies as some here online, has got to be as dumb as a bag of hammers, when it comes to bees. In other words to rank me the instructor, student or hammer. In short a good grasp on honey bee keeping by experience only should be heard.

It's a great statement, but what does it mean?????

[Randy Ray]

It's a great statement, but what does it mean?????

Beekeeping competition.

[mac]

Beekeeping competition.

Is it beekeeping competition or is it ego competition when talking about bees? How’s the banana research going??

[Randy Ray]

My first experiment was blending bananas and apples together with a little sugar water which proved messy and it dried out to the extent they stopped eating it much. If I do a blend again I will leave out the the sugar and water. These natural ingredients are consumed by bees naturally. One caution is the apple and banana should be peeled to prevent any insecticide contamination.

[mac]

Interesting idea.What got ya started in that direction???

[Randy Ray]

Interesting idea.What got ya started in that direction???

Perhaps having a liver transplant and not trusting corporations to do the right thing to our food made me observe natural alternatives.