Research on Algae as a pollen supplement and on colony gut health. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/arch.21658 Where we got the Black patties: healthybeesllc.com/
Cool! I skimmed through the nutritional stuff and it looks like they are attempting to target the right things, I don’t see the claim about the SHB though, and I don’t understand the mechanism which repels SHB from this protein source as opposed to the others. Field trials tell all
a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog I picked some of these up in January and my bees seemed to prefer Mega Bee and UltraBee. I’ll be interested to see these results. Plus these things smell like pickles to me! Ha ha
Hey Ian. I think there is promise to Algae but who knows. Then again this might be the best thing since a queen excluder. Had to find out. I completely agree with you that beekeeping is way behind the nutritional curve when compared to other agricultural sectors.The Beetle repulsion comes from the essential oils that are in the patty. These patties smell pretty strong. Almost like thymol. The Healthy bees website has some pretty far out claims.... we will see what the honeybees and the beetles have to say.
Always interesting to see what problems other beekeepers have to deal with. We don't have SHB in the UK yet, and in my area at least there is never a shortage of pollen, but it's good to know that there are people putting time and resources into solving these issues.
We used our first box of Algae pollen patties. The bees consumed the patties better than any other pollen substitute we have tried. One weak nuc did have a small corner of hive beetle larva but it was after three weeks. The bees seemed to be storing the patties next to the brood. I have never known bees to store other pollen subs.
Testing them on 1 smaller hive now and they are loving it, I have virtually no SHB this year for some reason so can’t speak to its resistance, but I put way more on then I would ever dare to with a ultra bee pattie
I peel off he solid sheet of paper and leave the sheet of paper with the holes on the patty and place the patty on top of the frame bars paper side down. The allows the bees to climb up on top of the patty and consume it much faster. I have fed 320 lbs. of these patties to my bees and they inhaled them. I put a half patty in my nucs.
My experiment with the algae patties so far is going well. My bees seem to take the algae patties as well as regular patties. I have yet to see the first SHB larvae in any of the algae patties, which I must admit I'm excited about. My colonies with regular patties all had SHB larvae in them. (nasty slithering buggers) I can not tell if it is making a difference with bee health but it's certainly not hurting. The fact that I'm not seeing any nasty SHB larvae is about enough to sell me.
Thanks Kamon and Laurel for the video. I’m glad the gave you the box of algae patties for testing and your experiment. As many experiments as you do you should see if there are any grants or funding available from the state or federal government. I’m anxious to see how the algae goes.
Great vid Kamon, thank you. Depending on what you are testing for, perhaps try half a patty of spirulina and pollen in each of the four different-strength hives. Maybe try placing half a patty side by side, just like you put the 2 halves of spirulina on that 2nd hive but make 1 of them a pollen patty. Then check back at the egg/larvae stage of those darn SHB & see which they prefer, if it makes any difference to SHB numbers and especially which the bees prefer. Am keen to see your results.
Are you using control hives to see if there is a different. It is not always if bees will consume it, but also growth rate and health of the colony. So a control colony would be nice to have to compare.
Ever tried planting some vegetation that blooms during the dearth for your bees? Viper bugloss, borge, milkweed, melissa and phacelia would be good ones to try. Asters bloom until frost.
Kamon, I use these patties, but they aren't cheap. Have you compared the cost with your usual patties? The last box I purchased was discounted, but the cost with shipping was approximately $4.60 per pattie. I've never seen a SHB on a healthy bees pattie.
If this works, maybe we'll try feeding the fish some pollen patties... Come to think of it. I've seen bees along the edge of quiet sections of ponds, always assumed they were drinking, or there for the minerals like butterflies on mud, maybe they are actually collecting algae? When it comes right down to it, we know less about the life of a bee than everybody thinks. Maybe that funny colored pollen in the hive isn't all pollen? I'm watching, this is interesting stuff. We'll see if you get any funny colored pollen or bee bread.
I'm going to give these a shot through the dearth here in Massachusetts, nectar flow is dropping off. I dont have the SHB problem. But I like this over soybased pollen. Just wish you could buy smaller amounts.
Not bee related, but do you find it harder to be keto in the south ... Here in western washington state (close to Seattle) it is easily accepted ... Now bee related ... Thanks for all the info ... I benefit from the "why it works" over "because it works". I'm a new bee keeping (accidentally caught a swarm) and I'm hooked.
It i harder to find things especially made for Keto in my area due to lack of demand and also living in a very small town far from Nashville (thankfully) However, We raise our own chickens, hunt deer, raise a cow now and then and buy and eat fruits and veggies. I wouldn't say it is as easy but it can be done. Glad you enjoy the video
Kamon, as I understand your experiment, you are treating 4 hives with the patties and I assume will do a comparative analysis. Do you have any control hives you will be monitoring using your patties and those hives using no patties? I'm interested in not just the consumption rate by the bees but also the effect (or lack thereof) on hive beetles. Thanks for keeping us informed.
Got a quick question, and I know you are real busy. So, I only have two hives. I'm new at this, and I watch everything I can to make a good guess at what I should do. Both of my hives were started in March of this year. They are doing great. I am interested in using something like the Hogg Half frames to produce comb honey. This would also save some money, in that I wouldn't need to purchase a lot of extra "honey extracting" devices or products. What do you think of these products for Noob's? Thanks for your help. (I'll even say "Roll Tide!")
I've never heard of these before. I think I will buy some myself and try them and see how I like them. Maybe I can share my results with you to share with your results. Give keepers more information has to be a good thing. Thanks for informing us about these. On a side note, get Laurel more reptiles! Lol
@@kamonreynolds Kamon that girl need more than two. Lol. A few live chats ago I was the guy that said you needed to get her some reptiles. I don't keep reptiles but I do collect tarantulas, true spiders and scorpions. If she's interested, I will send her a beginner species. Tell Laurel to get in front of the camera more and stop being shy. Lol! I just ordered a 40 lb box of this algae patties to try out. If they feed my bees and I stop seeing those nasty SHB larvae in my patties is enough to sell me. Those things are disgusting!
On a side note I have close to 100 tarantulas, about 25 scorpions and about 15 true spiders such as black widows, jumping spiders, fishing spiders, orb Weaver's and brown recluse. Plus some vinegaroons.
Ive been using these patties for 6 wks now .They eat them like candy .Ive noticed larva seems to have ample jelly .Not seeing the beetles like ive seen with regular patties. 🐝safe and keep your smoker lit!!! Konrad
If hive beetles like that stuff, then they make yeast. That yeast will attract more hive beetles up to 5 miles away. We do not have many hive beetles this year, so it may not be a good comparison.
So heres something for you to chew on The bee hit cant digest the algae. We have the microscopic pics to show the grains of algae. The thymol level in the product will guarantee a higher supercedure rate of well over 25% as high as 50 % in commercial operations. Its tasty to them but it's not getting absorbed. Look at royal jelly in larvae they will be way less than natural or other subs. If you want to switch up ultrabee and alternate with others we found global patties and megabee better than ultrabee and long term usage when alternating significantly healthier. You a should use super dfm probiotics (has way more bacterial count than mann lakes) honeybee when feeding pollen sub as the probiotics help to assimilate the protein. Lose the healthy bee bro. It's more scam than truth. They made some significant contributions for those research papers so they are slightly less than accurate. Additionally, formula was copied from turkish beekeepers who did not reveal the whole recipe so your missing a key component or two that make spirolina work somewhat. The country of origin has limited grain production, Wheat soy corn. and they had to find an alternative. It's better than nothing but you have much better alternatives in north America.
Didn't work for me. Given a choice most bees ate the Ultra Bee and didn't;'t touch the algae pollen patty. Occasionally one hive did eat the algae but I couldn't tell you which bee type it was.
@@George-nx5lo Probably right there. Hard to tell if they just hauled it out though, has anyone seen Spirulina laced patties results in the bee bread??
Would you recommend a certain type of Honey .... my husband has diabetes and in the last 2 yrs we has had 1/2 his foot removed his diabetes is now under control but the wound will not heal completely ... just a question we are at a loss to fix this seems like doctors have no clue what to treat except the Flu now days !
Have you researched a low carb or ketogenic diet along with eliminating seed/vegetable oils? Watch RU-vid videos made by Ivor Cummins, Dr Ken D Berry, Dr Jason Fung, Paul Mason, Nina Teicholz, and Paul Saladino. Information on the site MeatRX may be useful, and the site may be seeking volunteers for interventional studies.
Kamon, mij dearest beefriend.. The hat/veil you are wearing now really is a NO NO. Where is your old one ..somehow with this new one you look like my grandma😅