Honey B Healthy....To B, or not to B????

[Dimmsdale]

What's the story with this stuff.  Being a new beek, I bought some early in the season because it seemed like a good idea.  I fed some in the spring with an internal gallon feeder 1:1 sugar syrup and they gobbled it up in about a week.  I was planning on wintering on 2 deeps, taking all of the honey they have stored in the 3rd deep and doing some fall feeding.  I've read a couple of drastically different opinions on Honey B Healthy on some of the forums and was just wondering your thoughts.  I've heard it can increase robbing.  Would I be better off to just feed sugar syrup or just feed some sugar on top of the frames and call it a season?

[njoylife10]

Never used the stuff.  But only for the following reason.  I like to know what goes into my hive and no matter how they label outside products there is no way on earth to insure that those are the only things in a patty type products.  There could any number of bad things in it.  I prefer to just stick with sugar syrup when necessary.  I feel the same way about pollen patties.

njoylife10

[sc-bee]

It is harder for the bees to process the dry sugar. Most feed dry sugar in a cod climate during and emergency feeding condition. Stick with syrup when they can access it. A few love the fondant broads.

As for Honey-B-Healthy I understand it will increase robing due to the essential oils (lemon-grass in it). I would think a feeding method less inducive to robbing would be fine and don't spill any. Most I know that use it do so because it increase the rate of assumption of the syrup, in particular when it is being taken slowly but needed, and not because of the other claims.

[specialkayme]

I've read plenty on the use of HBH in sugar syrup, but not too much about it's use in making pollen substitute.

Anyone use it in their pollen patties? Or, put better, it's "knock off" mixture of essential oils?