Bee Nutrition
A Field Trial of Probiotics
A Field Trial of Probiotics Beekeeper-Funded Research First published in ABJ May 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In recent years, we’ve learned that the honey bee gut hosts a microbiome consisting of several core groups of bacteria (Figure 1), which if disrupted, may have detrimental effects upon bee health [[1]]. Many beekeepers, in the hope...
A Comparative Trial of the Pollen Subs 2020: Part 1
A COMPARATIVE TRIAL OF THE POLLEN SUBS 2020 Part 1 Beekeeper-Funded Research First published in ABJ July 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com California has been in a “mega-drought” for a decade. In many areas, there is not enough natural forage in late summer for building colonies back up to cluster sizes large enough to supply strong...
Observations on Pollen Subs
Observations on Pollen Subs Part 1 First published in ABJ July 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com I get a lot of questions about what the bees do with pollen subs, why, when, and how to feed them, or even if it’s worth the effort. Since I’ve done a goodly amount of investigation on this subject, allow...
de Groot 1953
Thanks to Google for scanning this pioneering and widely-cited study. Since this study is monumentally important to understanding honey bee nutritional requirements, I’ve unsuccessfully attempted to track down any copyright holder for permission to share it. But as I understand copyright law, since this reprint does not contain any indication of this pre-1978 publication being...
Where does fed pollen sub go?
I gave this presentation at the Calif State Beekeepers Convention in 2013. 2013 Where does fed pollen patty pdf
A Comparative Trial of the Pollen Subs: Part 5– Revisiting de Groot
Contents Diving into de groot Understanding what De Groot did The problem with normalizing to tryptophan Re-interpreting de groot’s findings Protein conversion — Patty into bees Justus von Liebig’s Law of the Minimum and essential amino acids My diet calculator So how about the tested diets? The homebrew formulation Not yet done … References...
A Comparative Trial of the Pollen Subs: Part 6- Do We Need to Revise De Groot?
A COMPARATIVE TRIAL OF THE POLLEN SUBS Part 6: DO WE NEED TO REVISE DE GROOT? Beekeeper-Funded Research First Published in ABJ December 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Bee nutritionists have long cited the essential amino acid ratios suggested by de Groot in 1953. But he himself pointed out the shortcomings of his methods and qualified...
Observations on Pollen Subs: Part 4- Nectar, Water, and Humidity
Observations on Pollen Subs: Part 4 Nectar, Water, and Humidity First published in ABJ January 2022 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Last month I pointed out that there is something about even a light natural pollen flow that seems to increase a colony’s response to fed pollen sub. But a light pollen flow is often also...
A Field Trial of Probiotics: Part 2
Contents Introduction. 1 My Two Field Trials 2 Trial #1. 3 Results of Field Trial #1. 4 Analysis of the Effect of Probiotics Upon the Gut Microbiomes. 5 Conclusion of Trial #1. 7 Trial #2. 7 Experimental Setup. 7 Results of Trial #2. 10 Discussion. 12 Final Thoughts 13 Acknowledgements. 13 Citations and Notes 13...
A Plant That Attracts Thirsty Bees
Contents How Can We Not Love Swimming Pools?………………………………………………………………………………1 Providing Bees with Alternative Water Sources ………………………………………………………………………2 Fabricating Artificial Water Sources………………………………………………………………………………………4 So What Have I Learned?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..11 Water Collectors are Different than Nectar Foragers ……………………………………………………………12 What Have I Found to Work Best? ……………………………………………………………………………………..14 It Doesn’t Appear to be the Flowers or the Scent …………………………………………………………………16 Wrap Up ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18 Disclaimer………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18...
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