Apipasta with vitamins 15kg

01 · WHAT IT IS

Energy, not protein — worth being clear about the difference

It is a recrystallised sucrose fondant at 90 % sugars, enriched with vitamins and free amino acids, which help the bee make better use of the protein she already has. But what it supplies is energy: if what is missing outside is pollen, this is not the product — that calls for a protein patty. Like any feed, it does not cure disease and does not replace varroa control.

02 · WHY THE SMALL CRYSTAL

15 µm on average is what makes them eat it

A crystal size averaging 15 µm is not a catalogue figure: it is the difference between a paste the bees lick up and a gritty one they abandon half done. And the 10 % moisture is what avoids the two classic failures of cheap fondant: a liquid layer forming on top in summer, and a block of stone in winter. With water that tight it does not ferment either, which is why it keeps for about two years.

03 · HOW TO PUT IT ON

The whole bag and a small cut — a big hole dries it out

No feeder needed: put the whole bag face down on the top bars with a small cut, and the bag itself holds the moisture in the paste while they work it. That is where the hardening that gets blamed on the product usually comes from: cutting a big hole leaves the paste open to the air, it dries on the surface and the bees walk away from it. If that has happened to you, try it with just a slit.

⚠ PRECAUTIONS

Do not feed during a flow or with honey supers on: sugar that goes up into the super ends up in the honey you are going to jar. Take out whatever is left before supering.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The box holds 15 bags of 1 kg and weighs 15.5 kg. To do the sums: a colony usually gets through four to six bags over a three month winter, so one box covers two or three colonies for the whole overwintering.