21-23 % MOISTURE · LIKE HONEY | 77.5-78.5 % DRY MATTER |
275 kg DRUM (SOLD BY WEIGHT) | 92-95 % MONOSACCHARIDES |
Invert syrup of fructose and glucose at honey's own moisture (21-23 %), with zinc and copper as trace elements. It is the plain one in the IdealApi range: sugars, and little else. A 275 kg drum.
The question these pages keep being asked is always the same: do I pour it as it is, or mix it with water and sugar? As it is. And there is only one thing you dilute it for.
01 · HOW TO FEED IT
Nothing to dissolve and nothing to heat: it arrives inverted and at the density of a 3:1 syrup. For topping up stores it goes in undiluted, and the maker suggests 500 g to 1 kg per colony every one to five days, matched to how fast the bees take it down.
| Stores · autumn | Neat, untouched. This is where the density pays: less water for the bees to drive off before they cap it |
|---|---|
| Stimulation · spring | Diluted 1:1 with water, the density bees read as nectar coming in |
The drum is sold by weight, not by volume: it is 275 kg of thick syrup, so it comes to appreciably less than 275 litres. Count in kilos when planning the season. One warning about diluting: thinned syrup does not keep the way the concentrate does, because more water means more risk of fermentation. Make up only what the colony will get through in a few days.
02 · THE SUGARS
It carries fructose (43-46 %), glucose and invert sugars, at a moisture of 21-23 % — honey's own — which is a dry matter of 77.5-78.5 %. Of the total sugars, 92-95 % are monosaccharides: the bee takes them up without having to split them first, and that is the figure worth reading on any syrup's data sheet. We would rather publish the numbers than sell a comparison: within this very range the Classic is the thickest of the three, ahead of the Optimal, which runs at 27-29 % moisture.
03 · ZINC AND COPPER
On top of the sugars the formulation declares two trace elements: zinc and copper. It is worth saying plainly what this is and is not: it is a feed, not a treatment. It acts on no disease of the colony, it does not stand in for hive health work, and no such role is claimed for it here. Nor does it cover a pollen shortage: this is energy, not protein.
04 · BEFORE YOU BUY
All three come in several formats, and what separates them is what sits on top of the sugar:
| Classic 275 kg (this one) | Sugars only, the thickest of the three (21-23 % moisture), with zinc and copper. The budget one |
|---|---|
| Optimal 275 kg | Balanced sugars (pH 4.5) plus an extract of seven plants |
| Complete ApiTotal 2 kg bags | The fullest: adds B-group vitamins, minerals and amino acids |
| ✓ FITS | Topping up stores and, once diluted, stimulating — without making syrup at home. |
| ✕ DOESN'T FIT | Standing in for a health treatment. Or covering a pollen shortage: this is energy, not protein. |
| ⚠ NOT INCLUDED | The feeder: the syrup is poured, and the container in the hive is bought separately. |
| Product | Invert syrup of fructose and glucose · Dulcofruct |
|---|---|
| Format | 275 kg drum |
| Sugars | Fructose 43-46 % · glucose · invert sugars |
| Monosaccharides | 92-95 % of total sugars |
| Moisture | 21-23 % · dry matter 77.5-78.5 % |
| Trace elements | Zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) |
| Directions for use | Neat for stores · diluted 1:1 with water for stimulation |
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