I don't know how many recall, but sometime last spring the topic of Ferro
bee (iron additive for water/feed) came up.
Nobody had any insight, But it was curious. The inventor was at CSBA and
a very nice gentleman. English was not his strong point, but a sharp guy.
I bought enough for 10 hives for a season (40.00)
I am not recommending or condemning it as I haven’t yet tried it, but
thought others may be interested in the information.
Hallo Charles,
Please find attached the supplemental instructions for using Ferro-Bee. But
since then more information became available, in particular about
overdosing.
As long as only sugar is used in administering, most of the powder will not
dissolve in a sugar solution, that is OK. In fact less is needed than is
mentioned in the former instructions. Use one skoop (= 0,5 gram) per colony.
Risks on overdosing and adverse effects are minimal then. I give you the
summary of application (per hive) below.
As I understood you are also a queen breeder. I have no idea if and how
Ferro-Bee can be used to improve queen health or to get better queens. This
is a matter of trying and targeted experimentation. But I can imagine that
it can work via a better semen quality. I got a report from a beekeeper who
was very satisfied with the drones after application of Ferro-Bee (only one
report). In the past, iron fumarate (the main ingredient of Ferro-Bee) was
used in combination with vinasse (melasse within sugar). This was done to
keep the stuff better in solution due to the high content of humic acids in
vinasse (about 50%). However, humic acids and comparable chelating agents
(many pesticides, organic acids such as formic acid) are not good for
queens. Probably they extract minerals from the royal jelly. The adverse
effect of formic acid on queens are well documented. I am willing to assist
you further in this domain.
Iron has a negative influence on reproduction (less reproduction) and on
gender (more males). This is demonstrated for other animals. In this respect
iron is just the opposite of manganese (more reproduction). Drones have a
higher iron content.
Maybe you find an answer on your point about Nosema on my website
http://science-in-water.com/us/bees/research/148-nosema.html
Summary of application (per hive):
1. First mix one skoop of the powder (= 0,5 gram) with a small amount of
sugar (1-2 dessertspoons). Stir well.
2. Add a little water and continue stirring to make a paste.
3. Add this paste to the rest of the sugar syrup/winterfeed, in at least
one quarter of sugar solution (or in a gallon).
An experiment with large amounts of Ferro-Bee was carried out in
july/september 2014, over a period of 5-6 weeks, administered 2-3 times per
week, 6 hives on one and the same location, 8 – 11 grams total dose per
colony (this was up to 5 times the recommended dose). The bees consumed it
all and could withstand this overdose pretty well. But after that period
half of the colonies disappeared, flying around crazily and disoriented. The
other half survived.
When Ferro-Bee is applied in combination with formic acid, thymol or
essential oils (for instance Honey-b-Healthy), too much iron is dissolved at
the time, leading to adverse effects (dead bees) due to an overdosis.
To inform you further: I think that a continous supply of small quantities
of iron is important, since problems with availability of iron can occur
regularly in a range of circumstances, in particular after rainy or dampy
weather. Effects reported by beekeepers were: 1. prevention of winter
mortality 2. higher activity of the bees 3. perfect brood development (no
´dotted brood´). Other effects are: 1. influence on division of the bees
among the hives, when these hives are adjacent 2. influencing varroa mites
(reproduction, gender) 3. increase of mite fall.
Hope to stay in contact with you, best regards, Maarten
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