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Date: | Fri, 7 Jun 1996 01:52:31 GMT |
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At 07:25 PM 6/5/96 +0000, you wrote:
>...I wonder if acetic acid -- the main ingredient in vinegar -- other
>than water, is also detrimental?...
>
>Allen,
>
>Freidrich Ruttner wrote a number of years ago that lactic acid could be used
>to invert sucrose for bees. He warned against using "other acids," but
>didn't list the ones he thought were harmful.
>
>Kevin
>
I checked the most recent edition of The Hive and the Honey Bee for their
method of mixing syrup for feeding. They recommend the use of vinegar to
prevent granulation. I also seem to remember an article last spring, in the
ABJ classroom section where vinegar was recommended to prevent
fermentation. I was told, by another beekeeper, that the bees seemed to
take up syrup quicker if a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar were
added to each gallon. I have been doing this for about four years and have
seen no ill effects. Quite the contrary, The bees do seem to take it
quicker and I haven't had any problems with fermentation.
Where I live, we have a very short season. It starts in late April, peaks
in May and is pretty well done by the end of June. I have observed
scrubbing bees in all my colonies for the past week. If there is a sourwood
bloom, the season could go as late as the end of July.
At the end of July, I remove the honey crop and add hive bodies of
foundation above a queen excluder. I then feed the bees a 2:1 syrup. They
will use this syrup to draw out new brood comb. When they have most of it
drawn I start adding syrup with Fumidil for them to store as part of their
winter stores. When the wild Aster and Goldenrod flow comes in fall they
store this in the lower brood chamber, since the top one is fill of now
invert sugar syrup. In late October I remove the queen excluder so the bees
can move up. The Aster and Goldenrod honey is consumed first and by late
winter the bees move into the top chamber. At this time they start cosuming
the sugar honey with the Fumidil. I try to reverse the chambers the first
chance I get in March so that I can cull the very old combs out of the old
brood chamber. By the end of March, the colonies are roaring and ready to
start collecting nectar. A few will have swarm cells and I use these for
making splits for increase and swarm control.
I think one key to this is the fact that they will take syrup very quickly
at this point in time and the fact that the syrup does not ferment even in
high ambient tempratures.
Frank Humphrey
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Franklin D. Humphrey Sr.
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