Aquavitamino Bees

01 · WHAT IS IN IT

Vitamins and pre-split amino acids

Per litre of product it carries vitamin A 10,000,000 IU, D3 2,000,000 IU and E 3,000 IU, plus B-group vitamins — B1, B2, B6 and B12 —, K3, niacinamide and D-panthenol. The amino acid side comes from plant-based protein hydrolysates: hydrolysed meaning the proteins arrive already broken into free amino acids, among them leucine, lysine, valine, methionine and phenylalanine.

02 · HOW TO FEED IT

One millilitre per litre, and better at dusk

Dilute 1 ml per litre or kilo of made-up syrup. The manufacturer suggests a mix of 5 litres of water with 8 kg of sugar. In deficiency states the dose can go up to 2-3 ml per litre. Feed it weekly for at least three weeks, handing out 1 to 2 litres of mix per hive according to what each one needs.

It is best fed at dusk. The product itself is neutral in smell, so it does not draw attention, but the syrup does: handing it out in daylight with nothing coming in from the field is the quickest way to start robbing at the apiary.

03 · WHAT IT IS NOT

It does not replace pollen or a protein patty

This is a contribution of micronutrients, not of protein. At one millilitre per litre what goes in are vitamins and free amino acids — precisely what the colony does not make and what it lacks after a long winter or a move. If there is a genuine protein deficit — no pollen in the field, nuclei starting up — that is covered with pollen or a protein patty; this goes on top, not instead.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Between the two sizes it is the number of hives that decides: at one millilitre per litre, the 1-litre bottle covers a thousand litres of syrup, so the 5-litre container only makes sense on large outfits. Store it between 22 and 25 °C, dry and dark. And the usual rule: do not feed during the flow if you intend to harvest that honey for sale.