Apipasta plus proteins (3%) 14kg

01 · HOW TO PLACE IT

Cut along the dotted line and leave the plastic on

This is the most repeated question and the one that decides whether the product works or makes a mess: the plastic does not come off. Cut along the dotted line and lay the sheet face down over the frames, with the cut towards the bees. They feed through the opening and the plastic acts as their floor. Strip the wrapper and leave the paste bare and, in warm weather, it softens and the bees sink into it and stick; put it the wrong way up and it drips into the hive. With the plastic on it also does not dry out, which is the other common complaint when the colony is slow to take it.

02 · WHAT THE 3 % PROTEIN MEANS

A contribution, not a pollen substitute

Better said here than in a review: 3 % crude protein is not a pollen patty. Patties and pollen substitutes work at far higher figures and are used to push brood; this is a maintenance fondant that also carries protein. Its 3 % includes the ten essential amino acids in De Groot proportions, and that is its value: it covers the gap when no pollen is coming in, it does not start a laying push. If stimulating brood is what you are after, the product is a different one.

03 · WHY IT DOES NOT HARDEN

Ultrafine crystal and 10 % water

The paste is made by recrystallising sucrose down to a crystal averaging 15 µm — finer than what a bee has to dissolve, so she takes it without effort. And each crystal is coated in a thin film of glucose syrup, which is what keeps the paste soft. With 10 % water it holds its texture all year: it neither hardens in winter nor liquefies in summer, and it keeps for up to two years in storage. Even so, heat softens it: on very warm days, put it in early and check it at the next visit.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The box is 14 kg in sheets, so it shares out across hives without breaking up a block. It fits in the gap between frames and crown board; if you do not have that space, an empty super or a top feeder solves it. And the standing rule: do not feed during a flow if you are going to harvest that honey for sale.