This is a very interesting look and bees memory and effects of scent.
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4437579.htm
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Yes I just watched this - makes me wonder if a little lavender oil in the autumn syrup may be useful?
Hi Busso, I watched that the other night, very interesting.
I put it in my smoker 
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Valli,
Why would you consider putting it in the syrup in the autumn?
Very very interesting article/video I’m would have to share this with a number of colleagues. Additionally I see no reason not to have lavender growing around my house and inside my home. If it has no effect that I just get a great odor in the house if it does have an effect maybe I can help any mental issues short-term and long-term as I age.
Definitely do not want to put a banana anywhere near my hive. Maybe not in my smoker well I put lavender but definitely will be planting some nearby.
Thank you for sharing, things like this is extremely interesting to me.
In my experience any smell in syrup sets off a feeding frenzy and robbing anytime there is no nectar flow. I would not add scent to syrup or anything that can be scent. That includes essential oils but also things like vinegar or even chlorine. I have seen all of those set off massive robbing and that frenzy that leads to robbing.
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I can’t speak for other parts of the world but UK beekeepers are exposed to all sorts of “snake oil” concoctions to give our bees. They are usually expensive but as you suspect largely rubbish. Bees need nectar and pollen gathered from a wide variety of sources and that’s it!
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I do understand, just did not understand from the video why Autumn? and also why in the syrup, it was about smell
Very interesting, thank you for posting. Personally I find the smell of jasmine, neroli (orange blossom) and tuberose all profoundly affect my mood in a positive way. So our garden is full of jasmine, citrus trees and tuberose. 
I understand what @Michael_Bush is saying, but I have been putting Eucalyptus and Thyme and Sage essential oils in my Winter Sugar Syrup to help with Varroa - This is a personal Choice but I undersatnd what Michael says about strong smells in Hives. I use a Miller type feeder and both my hives are fead at the same time so there is no robbing
PS
A lot of beekeepers, including me, put thymol into the autumn syrup if we have to feed.
It stops the syrup fermenting if the bees don’t cap it but more importantly it protects against Nosema. I have recipe that involves dissolving the thymol crystals in alcohol and emulsifying it into the syrup. I buy ready inverted bee feed which is more concentrated than 2:1 and saves the faff of mixing gallons of the stuff in the kitchen
The essential oils would vaporize as the bees evaporate the liquid they are mixed into. So in theory you may be correct but in reality once the syrup is stored in the frames the hive would become a giant evaporative diffuser for whichever essential oils you mixed in the syrup.
You know, I just watched this again, and I have to say, I really LOVE Monash University! First of all, their gastroenterology research gave me the clues I needed to treat my own Irritable Bowel Syndrome, when more than a decade of US medicine and research offered no relief. Now they are doing fascinating bee research. I just know that David is going to “re-purpose” some Eppendorf tubes, so that we can play similar games with our bees. 
(The Eppendorf tubes had cut off bottoms, and were used to hold the bees in a neat row while they smelled lavender oil and got sugar treats).
heh i saw that too. and wondered what would happen if i added dry lavender flowers to the smoker?
Would it calm the bees even more?
I do but the calming effect is on me, I suspect. I don’t think the bees care.
Church incense is nice too.