# Ultra Bee?



## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

I'm looking at changing from Mann Lake's Bee Pro to Ultra Bee and am wondering what other's experience has been? 
I wish Mega Bee was available locally, but Ultra Bee seems a good alternative and can get the free shipping. And yes, I have looked at Randy Oliver's research but even that is severely limited. 
Searched and didnt find much on Ultra Bee. Not wanting to start a food fight and we really need a section on nutrition/feeding.


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## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

My experience with Ultra Bee has been great. I go through a few 40lb boxes a year, probably more this next year. The bees take it up pretty quick on strong hives that are in the mood to raise brood. I feed during late winter/ early spring then again during any pollen/nectar dearths. When pollen starts coming into the hives they still eat the sub and store the pollen. I personally like the product.


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## rwlaw (May 4, 2009)

FOOD FIGHT? :lookout::lookout:
Donno if they'll play out to OR, but Kelly's has mega bee and has free shipping over $150, their 40# bags are a buck thirty and some. I like mega bee as they have the brick recipe and I don't have to fight the stinkin SHB's in the patties.


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

I have used both the patties and the dry formula and have been pleased. The patties are well liked. My bees generally wont take the dry if there is any real pollen source available, which is most of the year here. I always keep some available to them in late summer, just in case, but they never ate very much. This year, with the west coast drought and nothing flowering, they ate up 20 pounds in two weeks.


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## Marcin (Jun 15, 2011)

dudelt said:


> I have used both the patties and the dry formula and have been pleased. The patties are well liked. My bees generally wont take the dry if there is any real pollen source available, which is most of the year here. I always keep some available to them in late summer, just in case, but they never ate very much. This year, with the west coast drought and nothing flowering, they ate up 20 pounds in two weeks.


How many colonies were you feeding?


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

rwlaw said:


> FOOD FIGHT? :lookout::lookout:
> Donno if they'll play out to OR, but Kelly's has mega bee and has free shipping over $150, their 40# bags are a buck thirty and some. I like mega bee as they have the brick recipe and I don't have to fight the stinkin SHB's in the patties.


Yeah, I'd like to try it but got stung by them once already. That, and mega bee is insanely priced for my use as a supplement (hence my consideration of Ultra Bee which seems like the affordable option).


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## Rusty Hills Farm (Mar 24, 2010)

I've used both, with a slight preference for the MegaBee, just not enough to pay that price.

I can't use the patties, but UltraBee mixes into 2:1 syrup as long as I use it a pint at a time. By the quart I get too much settling. Works great in sugar blocks, too. Bees take both forms nicely.

HTH

Rusty


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## phyber (Apr 14, 2015)

how are you guys feeding the Ultra Bee? If dry, do you mix in syrup or leave out dry? Are the patties ready to go in the hive?


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

I use the dry Ultra Bee and they love it. 
For small batches I'll mix up about - 5# Sugar + 2# Ultra Bee + 11 oz Water. Makes a nice workable patty and the bees dig right in.


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

Mike Gillmore said:


> I use the dry Ultra Bee and they love it.
> For small batches I'll mix up about - 5# Sugar + 2# Ultra Bee + 11 oz Water. Makes a nice workable patty and the bees dig right in.


No need for oil? Love the Bee Pro, but keep feeling like I'm cheaping out on them...everything I read shows that Ultra is simply the best "ROI" for feed today.


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

Marcin said:


> How many colonies were you feeding?


7 at the time. I am sure there were other bees there too because there were a few that were definitely not mine. I could see most of them returning directly to my hives.


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

Others might, but I don't use oil. I give them small patties they will be able to consume fairly quickly. It will dry out if it sits in the hive too long. I don't like to risk feeding hive beetles so large amounts don't work for me anyway.


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## larrypeterson (Aug 22, 2015)

Last year I tried "Ultra" and was well pleased. I had a bias against dry feeding but by July I was feeding dry and I intend to continue feeding dry Ultra. I have a small operation so I can use more labor intensive methods. I made a shaker bottle and walked around and shaked "Ultra" on the landing boards of each colony almost every day. The bees ate it up except for a few days. I wish I could provide exact data to support my notion, however, at this time I "just like it." It also seems to me that I get more large queen cells when feeding suppliments. The cells are my primary means of creating nucs. I used the ultra for making "bee grease" for winter. Without data my opinion is a lot like my snapping my fingers to keep the elephants away. It has been very effective for the past 50 years. I haven't had a single elephant show up. 

All the natives in South America walk in a straight line. At least the one I saw did! Best wishes, LP


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

Is there a downfall to buying the premade Ultra Bee patties?


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

Cost is the only thing I can think of. The difference in price per patty is significant when you compare pre-made patties vs. mixing up your own with the dry product.


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## sterling (Nov 14, 2013)

I feed UltraBee dry and the bees have really worked it. I can't put patties in the hive because of SHB. The bees won't bother it if there is a real pollen flow but will work it during dearth periods. I just put it in buckets and hang the bucket in a tree or fence side ways.


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## scituatema (Aug 30, 2014)

who buys megabee for $139.95 for a #40 bag?


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

Interesting info.


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

scituatema said:


> who buys megabee for $139.95 for a #40 bag?


Vs. the $89.95 (regular price) for 50# of Ultra Bee, and drops to around $69 on sale multiple times throughout the year.
Am trying to get all my eggs in order for early spring.


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## liljake83 (Jul 2, 2013)

DirtyLittleSecret said:


> No need for oil? Love the Bee Pro, but keep feeling like I'm cheaping out on them...everything I read shows that Ultra is simply the best "ROI" for feed today.


I add canola corn and coconut oils along with a bit of lemon juice keeps them moist and soft and the extra fat seems to help with consumption but I'm no expert


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

Rusty Hills Farm; How much of the Ultra Bee do you mix per pint of syrup? Also will it work with 1:1 ? What type of feeder are you using?


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## Live Oak (Oct 11, 2008)

I feed my bees Ultra Bee Dry Feed. I have found the most cost effective way to buy it is in the 1,500 lb. totes. Yes, you will need a tractor with forks and enough lift capacity or a fork lift to get the totes off the truck but if you buy the totes on sale from Mann Lake, the cost is around $1.10 per lb. Sometimes less depending upon the sale price. I unload the totes into Lowes food grade 5 gallon cans with food grade seal top lids. This is REALLY labor intensive as well as MESSY as the Ultra Bee dust get everywhere. It is essential that you wear a respirator mask while shoveling out the Ultra Bee, you DO NOT want to breath in the dust. They keep the Ultra Bee fresh for a LONG time and a 5 gallon can is a real handy size to fill up 3 or 4 feeders. This way of buying Ultra Bee is NOT for everyone due to the pain in the rear end shoveling/packing into 5 gallon cans and you may not use that much. If you have a beekeepers club or other beekeepers who will buy it from you, this may help to use up a good bit of the dry feed. If you pack it right you can get about 30 lbs. of Ultra Bee dry feed in a 5 gallon can. I use a dead blow hammer to beat the seal top lids on but you have to be REALLY careful and good at it as the Ultra Bee dust wants to puff out from under the lid until you get it seated good. 

I have tried all types of methods of feeding the Ultra Bee Dry Feed and I finally gave in and tried one of Mann Lake's big blue Pro Feeders. Yes they are outrageously expensive but after use the first one for several months I noted that it would fairly quickly pay for itself in lost and fouled dry feed in how it protects the dry feed from dew, moisture, and rain. 

I put out 10 of the Mann Lake big blue Pro Feeders and fill them each with about 10 lbs. of Ultra Bee each. It take my bees about 2 to 3 weeks to consume it all depending upon how warm the temps are. I put the Pro Feeders in plastic 55 gallon barrels with cinder blocks inside to prevent being blown over and place the Pro Feeders on top of the barrels with 5 brick on top of the lower ring of the Pro Feeder. This seems to work well in keeping the field mice, rats, raccoons, opossums, and what not from getting into the Pro Feeders and they cannot knock them over. 

When the temps are warm enough for the bees to come out and forage, they are ravenous about feeding on the Ultra Bee Pro Feeders but when the nectar flow starts and real pollen is available, the bees will simply ignore the feeders. I leave them out anyway for periods when they bees cannot find natural pollen, drought, or darth in the nectar flow. The bees will come back to the Pro Feeders with Ultra Bee that has bee setting in it for months and consume it as they need it during the Summer as conditions dictate. 

For folks with 1 or 2 hives, you can make your own feeder out of thin wall pvc 3 or 4 inch sewer pipe and pvc rectangular down spout adaptors for the entrance along with a pvc cap to close off the opposite end. Cut the pipe to size, use pvc cement to glue the pieces together, and either use threaded eye screws to thread into the pvc to mount with sting or wire, or use zip ties. Mount the pvc feeder with the entrance facing away from prevailing winds and the entrance aimed slightly down.


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## larrypeterson (Aug 22, 2015)

Live Oak,

Thanx for the report! I do have one question, however. How far away from the colony boxes do you position the pollen substitute feeder? I have been shaking a little ultra on the landing boards at the entrance. This is not efficient use of my time I know. I just like to "putter" with the bees. Great thread!!!

Best wishes, LP


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

Doesn't have to be far away like nectar, one of our local guys hangs his in the trees near his hives. When they need it, they really go for it, especially in the spring.

I've fed dry in Kelley hivetop feeders, but it works better outside the hive.

Peter


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## Live Oak (Oct 11, 2008)

larrypeterson said:


> Live Oak,
> 
> Thanx for the report! I do have one question, however. How far away from the colony boxes do you position the pollen substitute feeder? I have been shaking a little ultra on the landing boards at the entrance. This is not efficient use of my time I know. I just like to "putter" with the bees. Great thread!!!
> 
> Best wishes, LP


Agree with the above post. I put my feeders about 50 - 75 ft. away from the hives. Some are closer like 20 ft. due to vegetation. The bees will smell the Ultra Bee and find it quickly.


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## Rusty Hills Farm (Mar 24, 2010)

AR Beekeeper said:


> Rusty Hills Farm; How much of the Ultra Bee do you mix per pint of syrup? Also will it work with 1:1 ? What type of feeder are you using?


I can usually get 2 tablespoons to mix into 2:1. I feed in pint canning jars with holes in the lids. I have no luck with the 1:1--it always seems to separate out and wind up in a pile that clogs the holes.

HTH

Rusty


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