Honey Bee Healthy taste in honey on Flow Hive

[Michael_McLaughlin]

You are correct, thanks for your input. It even has a clear color.

[katiegray]

@Michael_McLaughlin

I recently harvested a Flow Hive. This is the 2nd year for this hive and I was very surprised at what happened. This colony was given “Honey Bee Health” in their 1:1 sugar water at a specified measurment of 20ml/gal sugar water. It took no more than two gallons total and when I harvested it I got about 2.5 gallons of honey. However when cleaning up after the harvest, my wife asked if I had tasted it so I did and we both agreed that it had a tasted & smell of honey bee health. I paid $120 for a gallon of this stuff that everyone swore by. Has anyone else had this problem? The honey is not ruined but just has a funny taste.

Mighty Mike

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Well! I may point out your problem here. That’s sugar water…It seems that you have feed Bee with sugar water before harvesting…therefore, what you got is not bee honey but Sugar + Honey bee. that why you has a funny taste.
please note: Don’t let your bees eat sugar water before 3 months to the time you harvest Honey.

[Buzzing-bees]

Hi @Katiegray, I have only just read this post of yours. I live in the Australian state of New South Wales, 360 miles south west of Sydney. We have just entered winter here and I am feeding sugar syrup (1:1) to my bees as it is only a new beehive started in mid November 2020. I am concerned about your comment about not feeding sugar syrup to bees 3 months before putting on the flow box. Yet it was a commercial beekeeper of 50 yrs, and whose father was also an aparist before him, whom advise us at our local amateur beekeepers club to feed sugar syrup to our bees over winter, if the hive was not strong enough to make it through winter.
Confused newbee

[Eva]

Hiya Buzz, I’ll try to shed some light on this for ya. A good rule of thumb for placing the Flow super on is -

1. The colony is strong
2. The nectar flow is strong

With both conditions going on, the colony would not need feeding, AND would be less likely to move previously-stored sugar syrup from prior feeding out of the brood area and up into the Flow frames. Supering in general shouldn’t occur along with feeding, since that’s to help the bees boost brood nest-building and/or make it through nectar dearths.

[can_u_digit]

I’ve used Honey Bee Healthy to feed my bees this spring, too. I removed my feeder a couple weeks ago, because the nectar flow has started and they slowed their syrup consumption considerable. I won’t add my Flow Super for another week or so, as my 2nd brood box is still being drawn out.

Please note the HBH label says it is not for human consumption.

Per @John_Yeager 's suggestion, I would save the “honey” you harvested and feed it back to them at the end of the season, but I would not serve it to humans.

Good luck!

[Buzzing-bees]

Hi @Eva, yes that’s why I didn’t put my flow box on last season, as I only got my bees late November '20, and I felt that their numbers weren’t high enough. So I added a second broad box, and feed them 1:1 sugar syrup, which they consumed at a rate of (about) 8 litres/ fortnight. I am pleased to say that their numbers grew so well that now I can only just lift one end of their hive off the ground it is so heavy (above said commercial beekeeper) said that is a very good sign of a healthy hive. They have continued to forage, even on (for here) very cold overcast days, with a good amount of pollen included. I am waiting on an ideal box which I will add to the hive, at the first sign of Canola (rape) starting to flower. Once the Canola has finished flowering I will remove and store the ideal frames to feed back to the bees next winter.

[Buzzing-bees]

Hi @Michael_McLaughlin, Flow Hive is an Australian designed bee hive. The TRUE FH is not built anywhere BUT in Australia, any hive that claims to be a FH, BUT is made anywhere else is a fake, and is in breach of copyright law. Thus by buying a fake FH, you doing an small Australian business out of a well deserved sale. Would YOU like it if that was done to you???
Also you are not correct, China is renowned for breaching copyright laws.