ProHealth - contents of honey

[EmiKami]

Good morning. I have a question about honey and medication. I am leaving honey for my bees this year since this is their first year. I want to make sure they make it through winter. I am thinking to harvest honey that is left from winter next spring. I have always added feeding stimulant (ProHealth - contains lemon grass oil, spearmint oil, lecithin) in sugar water. Is it ok to harvest honey that may contain these ? How can one make sure that honey you are harvesting is non-chemical free ? On the back of ProHealth bottle, this is also used to stimulate feeding which means to give it to bees when they are making honey. I have not used any other medication (natural one) except ProHealth.

[Hawkster]

when they mention stimulated feeding that means to get the bees to take the sugar water not to make them make more honey. Personally I wouldn't harvest honey that i thought might contain supplements or sugar water. leave that for the bees and take it from a clean super you put on after you are done feeding

[crofter]

It is held sacred that honey be nothing other than what the bees gather from flowers and trees. To make exceptions starts a path down a slippery slope. For that reason I dont think many will come out and suggest that you might eat the stuff from those combs yourself; it would likely suggest to some that anyone who gave such advice is probably doing that themselves!!! The essential oils will very likely pass on a flavor. Personally I dont think eating some yourself would be any worse than eating some of the artificial butter flavored pancake syrups or drinking soda pop but it wont have the hint of legitimacy they have.

Probably best to let the bees use it for early spring feed and consider the frames suspect for honey.

[sqkcrk]

Go ahead and harvest it. There isn't anything in the honey that will hurt you.

[Michael B]

Nothing wrong with eating it other than the taste. I use pro health and I would never want to eat it but you might like it.