1. Answer:
Thanks for your Question. The SC Beekeeper's meetings were great. I certainly enjoyed the meetings and all the good folks there. The food was great too!

About your question - I always find patties the easiest way to feed MegaBee but with Hive beetles that can be a problem. You might try small patties first - If that doesn't work you could try the candy board or the liquid in bottle or bucket feeders.
I hope that helps

Let me know if you have any other questions.
All the best
Gordon

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2. Answer:
Thanks for your question - sorry it took so long for me to get back to you - I've been on the road a bit. About the corn oil. We were putting it in at approximately 4% by volume. I would say anywhere between 2 and 4% would be great for your bees. This time of year a little extra lipid is very beneficial for your bees. Just don't go too high.
I hope that helps
All the best

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3. Answer:
Thank you for your interest in MegaBee. As to your question about A. mellifera capensis - I haven't worked with capensis yet but as you are probably aware we do have A mellifera scutellata here in the Southwestern United States. They respond very well to MegaBee in fact they are the only bee if found that would store liquid MegaBee. European bees simply use the product as they need it, but scutellata stores it. I found that interesting. They built up very well on the product. They seem to respond very well to protein stimulus.

As for distribution, we are negotiating an agreement with Castle Dome Solutions at present and should be able to get back to you very soon.
Thank you for your interest
Best regards
Gordon

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4. Answer:
Thanks for your question - pretreatment just refers to the amount of brood in the colony prior to the application of MegaBee to the colony.

As a side note, there were twenty five replications in each treatment so the number in the graph refers to a mean (average) of the entire number of replications.

To feed the product
Liquid - thoroughly mix one half pound of MegaBee into every gallon of heavy syrup you intend to feed. Heavy syrup is a term used for 2 : 1 sugar syrup. (or high fructose corn syrup 55) If the syrup is too light (not enough sugar) the MegaBee may come out of solution. We find that mixing is important the better mixed the product the better the megabyte stays in solution. The resulting syrup can be fed in division board feeders, bottles buckets or jars fed on top of the colony.

Patties can either be made according to instructions on the web site or they can be purchased pre-made. They should be fed along with a nectar flow or supplemental syrup feeding. The patties should be placed as close to the brood nest as possible.

MegaBee Candy Boards are placed on top of the colony either under the inner cover or in place of the inner cover.
I hope this answers your questions
Good luck with your bees
Gordon

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5. Answer:
Thanks for your Question - I guess I should have mentioned it in the web site. I got the black bottles from Glory Bee - bee supplies. I'll check at the office when I get in for an item number. I like the bottles they work very well but the holes need to be cut carefully so the bottles fit snugly otherwise they blow off when empty.
Let me know if you have trouble finding them.
Best regards
Gordon

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6. Answer:

Here is the contact information for Glory Bee Foods Inc.
GLORYBEE FOODS INC 541-689-0913, OR I simply asked for the one gallon black bottle feeder. The black bottle feeders are not in the catalog you have to ask for them special. They worked very well - just be careful drilling the hole - it needs to be snug so it won't blow away when empty.

Let me know if you are still having trouble
Gordon

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7. Answer:

Thanks for your email. You don't know how glad it makes me feel when I hear how MegaBee is helping beekeepers maintain healthier colonies. Thanks for letting us know how well it's working for you.

You asked about MegaBee as a human food. While MegaBee is a food grade product it wasn't formulated for the human palate. It would probably taste a bit tart because of the acidifiers to promote low pH. It isn't designed or appropriate for human consumption at this point.

While we tried to stay away from GMO components in MegaBee, we can't say there are no GMOs in MegaBee but we did try to limit them as best we could when buying the volume of raw materials we need to make MegaBee. As you are no doubt aware it is very difficult to find non GMO agricultural products in this country.

I hope that answers your questions
All the best

Gordon

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8. Answer:
Thanks for your email - you have a great question. My suggestion before you jump in and make a large batch of MegaBee you try a small batch of a quart or a gallon first to be certain the liquid will work in your operation. Once you see that you have the correct feeders and you have mastered the mixing, then try a larger batch.

The basic formula for making MegaBee liquid is to mix one half pound of dry MegaBee powder to every gallon on heavy syrup. So, if you wanted to make MegaBee liquid with 40 pounds of powder it will require 80 gallons of heavy sugar syrup. This syrup can be either HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), the blend (like Mann Lake's Pro-Sweet), or sucrose syrup.

Now her is the part you specifically asked about To make heavy syrup from sucrose, we typically use two parts sugar to one part water - you need 80 gallons so for a 2:1 sugar solution that would be roughly 880 pounds of syrup (sugar syrup weighs 11 pounds per gallon) , so our end formula for the syrup component - 2 parts sugar and one part water must equal 880, so one part would equal 293.33 - that means at 8 pounds per gallon (water weighs eight pounds per gallon) you would need 36.66 gallons of water (or just round it to 37 gallons ) added to 596.66 pounds of sugar (or round it to 600 pounds of sugar)

To sum it up
600 pounds of sugar
37 gallons of water
40 pounds of MegaBee

Now- that's not the hard part. The hard part will be to mix the solution thoroughly enough to get a smooth liquid MegaBee solution. Typically we tell beekeepers to mix the syrup first then add the MegaBee. You said in your email that you wanted to do everything in one batch - it's going to take a lot more mixing. Some beekeepers I know put that volume of MegaBee and syrup in large tanks with a motor and mixing blade, and let it mix for several hours. Another uses paddle mixer and a re-circulating pump - he will let it mix all night to insure a smooth blend. Then puts it in his jars. It seems the more you mix it the better the product stays in solution. And it is critical to have a heavy syrup. The product was designed to go into heavy syrup - if the syrup is too light it will separate.

Good luck - if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
all the best
Gordon

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9. Answer:
Thanks for your email
Do you happen to remember the name of the beekeeper who claimed that MegaBee has melamine in it? I'd like to personally set him straight - MEGABEE DOES NOT CONTAIN MELAMINE - I can't believe that someone would say that. We have had tests done at an independent lab to confirm there are no toxins in MegaBee - No components were sourced from China. Unlike other diets that contain soy flour MegaBee contains NO - trypsin inhibitors (an anti feeding agent found in soy flour) and is known to stunt bee development. Soy Flour is also known to contain stachyose - a sugar toxic to bees. I can't believe someone would say that - - I'm trying to promote bee health and longevity not kill them.

About your observations (learning). The finer sugar and that adding the sugar to MegaBee reduces clumping are great observations. Years ago when we first started formulating MegaBee we produced a test batch of MegaBee where the protein was ground together with sugar and it was a ready to use product - just add water. When polled about the product, beekeepers complained that they didn't want to buy the product with sugar mixed in - they said they could buy sugar cheaper than having it combined with the protein - so we took it out. We also found that when combined it was less likely to clump and dissolved more easily - just as you found.

About your Questions -

1. Boiling water shouldn't be a problem as it will cool rapidly after adding the MegaBee and Sugar. If you were to keep boiling the sugar and the product together it would likely degrade the proteins, but it shouldn't be a problem if you just add the hot water.
   
2. Adding a small amount of oil is good. We found that adding up to 4% oil actually improves consumption by the bees. We found that Corn Oil, Vegetable Oil, and Canola Oil increased consumption the most over other oils. Which oil is best for the bees you might ask - we haven't done that research yet but will be investigating that in the near future. Many sources claim that canola is the best for the bees but I haven't seen any data yet.
   

I hope that answers your Questions
Thanks again for your input.
All the best
Gordon

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10. Answer:
Hi Larry

Thanks for your email. Why MegaBee is dripping out of your feeder and syrup or water doesn't is that the suspension of MegaBee particles in solution breaks the surface tension of the fluid. Hence, less surface tension more dripping. You might try two things to correct this. First try making the solution with heavier syrup. At least a two to one sucrose to water solution if you are using sugar. The second thing you can try is to use fewer or smaller holes in the lid. I've found that 1/8th or 1/16th inch holes work well. Also if you put holes toward the middle of the lid they will tend to form a better vapor lock than is your put the holes around the edge of the container. Invariably, one side of the container will be slightly higher than the other - if the hole are far apart, the higher hole will act to let air in and the lower one will drip. These are just some of my experiences with feeding liquid di et and syrups.

I hope these suggestions help solve the problem. Let me know how it works.

Best regards
Gordon

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11. Answer:
Hi Rod

Thanks for your question - pretreatment just refers to the amount of brood in the colony prior to the application of MegaBee to the colony.

As a side note there were twenty five replications in each treatment so the number in the graph refers to a mean (average) of the entire number of replications.

To feed the product

Liquid - thoroughly mix one half pound of MegaBee into every gallon of heavy syrup you intend to feed. Heavy syrup is a term used for 2 : 1 sugar syrup. (or high fructose corn syrup 55) If the syrup is too light (not enough sugar) the MegaBee may come out of solution. We find that mixing is important the better mixed the product the better the megabyte stays in solution. The resulting syrup can be fed in division board feeders, bottles buckets or jars fed on top of the colony.

Patties - can either be made according to instructions on the web site or they can be purchased pre-made. They should be fed along with a nectar flow or supplemental syrup feeding. The patties should be placed as close to the brood nest as possible.

MegaBee Candy Boards are placed on top of the colony either under the inner cover or in place of the inner cover.

I hope this answers your questions

Good luck with your bees

Gordon

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12. Answer:
Hi Rod

Your question isn't silly at all; it's a very good question. I haven't seen the bees store any of the MegaBee based feeds. I even put fluorescent dye in a batch but didn't see it stored in the combs, but I did find it in the adults and even in the older larvae. The bees seem to recognize it as a food and consume it and pass it to other bees (tropholaxis - the sharing of food in social insects).

About spoilage: I've never seen MegaBee spoil, weather in patty, liquid or candy board. We've had it sitting out on the lab bench in plastic bags and no spoilage.

I'm glad you are enjoying working with MegaBee

Thanks again for your question.
Gordon

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13. Answer:
Dear Laura

Thank you for your email. Your question was: "Does MegaBee have a shelf life?" The answer is yes, but holding it until spring will not challenge the proteins in the diet. We have stabilizers and antioxidants in MegaBee to extend the shelf life. Putting the dry powder in a freezer, refrigeration or a cool dry place will of course help extend the life of the product but holding it until spring won't be a problem.

For Fall and Spring feeding I suggest adding more sugar to the mix - you can add up to 50% dry sucrose to the powder then make the patties with enough syrup to bring the patties to the correct consistency. The reason being that the bees benefit from the added sugar to help keep the brood nest up to temperature. Two table spoons of canola or corn oil per pound will give the bees a little added lipids as well. This helps build fat bodies and winter stores.

I hope this information helps. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further Questions Good luck with your research
Gordon

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14. Answer:
Hi Ellen,

The short answer to your question is: No, I wouldn't feed liquid MegaBee at this point. Perhaps some modified patties and I'll explain how to make those.

You raise two very good question, when and why to feed in the fall. When getting your colonies ready for winter there are three important points to consider, mites, stores and population.

First mites. Your mite management practices should have been done back in late summer. Either you treated for mites or you tested the population of mites with one of the many methods to survey your colony and were sure that your mite load was low. Sticky boards, ether roll or a sugar shake are well accepted methods to quantify the mite population in the colony. The point being that you want to go into the fall season with low mite numbers in the colony so the "winter" bees your colony will be producing will be as mite free as possible. After the mite treatment in early fall is a good time to add MegaBee to the colony because the bees you will be producing will have optimum protein levels in their bodies and they will be ready to cluster for the winter. Research has shown that bees with higher protein levels in their bodies live longer and that is what we want - bees that are going to live through the winter.

Secondly stores. Did your bees have a good fall season? For winter in Wisconsin your colony will need between 60 and 100 pounds of honey to see them through to spring when the willows and maples start blooming. And you should have ample stores of pollen strategically distributed in the colony ready for the bees to start using when they begin raising brood in January. At this point if your bees had a good fall with a lot of flight time and a good chance to put away stores honey and pollen. You should be fine. However if the colonies are light on stores, heavy sugar syrup and a few MegaBee patties would help get then ready for winter. The syrup would add to their winter honey stores and the protein patty would help build up the storage proteins in the adult population.

And that brings us to the last point, population. On the warm days that you mentioned, did you go through the colonies looking at brood and adult population? Do you have one full hive body of bees and perhaps a little brood,or maybe more? If so, your population of bees sounds good for the winter. If not, it's a little too late to try to stimulate much brood production. The Queen will have shut down by now. There are several things you can do for small colonies this late in the season, like uniting weak colonies, or stacking the weak colony over the stronger colony above a double screen. Let me know if you need more information about that procedure. But the point of winter population is that you should have a strong population of healthy bees going into the winter. If the population is not exactly what you were hoping for but still good enough to go into winter you can help them out on the back side of winter when they start rearing brood in January and February.

If you have a chance to do a winter inspection. Even in Wisconsin you get a rare day when the temperature approaches 50 and the bees will take cleansing flights. At that point, check the honey stores and be certain they have enough honey close to the brood and you could add a MegaBee patty or two directly above the brood nest. If it means putting the patty between the brood chambers that is fine, just don't block too much of their up and down communication in the hive. You don't want to block them from resources above them. Just place the patties so the bees can easily move up and down in the colony at the same time keeping the patty close to the brood.

Back to your question about liquid MegaBee and when to use it. Liquid MegaBee works great to build populations of bees when the queen is laying and the colony needs the protein and the carbohydrates. I'm afraid that November in Wisconsin is too late to feed liquid MegaBee because the bees tend to eat it directly and not store it. Probably because of the mix of protein and carbohydrates. A patty with a little extra sugar in it might be good this time of year. To prepare a winter patty from MegaBee powder you would add one half pound of granulated sugar to every pound of MegaBee (so a 2:1 mix) and then enough heavy syrup to make a patty. After it sits over night, the mix should be the consistency of soft cookie dough. Patty the dough out and put it on the colonies. Extra MegaBee can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

Lastly, if your colonies are strong and looking good for the winter, one of the best things you can do for them this winter is to put a patty on in February or March. Remember though, once you start supplemental feeding don't let it run out until early nectar and pollen are available. Even once the maples and willows have started blooming the colony will continue to take MegaBee and they will store much more of their pollen, which is good for later in the season.

Ellen, I hope that answers your question. Please feel free to get back to me if you have any further questions.

Good luck with your bees
Gordon

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15. Answer:
Hi Doug

Thanks for your email. You raise some good points and questions. Yes it's a good idea, especially this time of year to add sucrose to the dry MegaBee mix. That will give the bees added carbohydrates to help maintain brood nest temperature in these colder months.

You are correct that high fructose acts as a humectant and helps keep the patty moist. If you are adding dry granulated sugar to the MegaBee (2:1 MegaBee to sugar or even 1:1) you can then use the fructose syrup to make the patty. Use as much fructose as it takes to form a god patty.

And finally, your question about Nosema control. Yes, you can add Nosema control to the patty mix. There is some evidence that protein supplement fed at the same time as a Nosema treatments will help extend the life of the Nosema infested adults.

Best of luck with your bees this year. If you have any more questions I'll be happy to see if I can answer them.

All the best
Gordon

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