North American Beekeeping Conference AP-23 How It Came To Be Dale Hill, PhD, P.A.S. North American Beekeeping Conference Galveston, Texas January 11, 2017

AP-23 AP-23 ADM was approached by Dadant several years ago to manufacture a protein supplement. ADM overcame ingredient and processing challenges. Later asked by Dadant to develop new pollen-protein supplement for honey bees (optimize nutrient content, consumption and brood while staying cost competitive).

AP-23 Developed by 2 professional animal nutritionists with 50+ years of combined applied and research experience with economically important agriculture species. 4 years of development and testing.

AP-23 Started with literature review for nutrient requirements of the honey bee; ~ 450 world-wide articles reviewed, many had useful information, majority did not have enough info to make good decisions. We developed computer formulas based on 42 known nutrient levels and readily available ingredients, then tested formulas on 10 hives; 4 formulas per test period. Some were consumed well, some were not.

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AP-23 Due to wide variation in bee populations among hives, took each treatment consumption and divided by total consumption in that hive to determine treatment preference. Used 4 treatments in each hive, and tested 10 hives for each treatment period – normalized over treatment and time. Statistical analysis.

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AP-23 – What We Found Bees like certain ingredients that are difficult to handle and process! Bee like soy protein if protein fraction is purified. Bees don’t consume certain plant proteins very well, others they consume readily. Increases in certain amino acids over Groot et al 1953 increases consumption. Odor is very important.

AP-23 Bees prefer certain CHO sources (NO sugar added in AP-23 dry protein powder product). Processed plant products do not have enough cholesterol for the queen and nurse bees to make adequate hormones and pheromones, so I added small amt of egg protein. Also focused on ingredients used to enhance livestock gut health – most helped increase consumption.

AP-23 Specific compounds are added as antioxidants, based on plants that bees like. Antioxidants appear to be very important, especially for worker bees. Information on vitamins and minerals is rather limited – based AP-23 on what is known and is likely needed to support bee digestive and circulatory physiology.

AP-23 AP-23 is the 23rd formula that was tested. Consumption was consistently 2X-3X more than any major brand of pollen substitute that I tested against. Tested multiple times with same results. Not able to adequately document brood production in my small scale studies. Field testing by Dadant field staff and customers confirmed consumption data. Customers reported excellent results for large scale brood production. Continuing the research.

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AP-23 We paid close attention to what the bees were telling us about the ingredients, ingredient combinations, and nutrient levels in the diets tested, not just what the books and journal articles told us. Repeat sales to large commercial apiaries and small hobby beekeepers would not happen if there was not a significant positive effect of AP-23 on brood.

AP-23 – what beekeepers say North Carolina – “Started feeding AP23 powder to my bees last winter. I mix the AP23 in cake fondant and make it into patties about the size of my hand and about a 1/2 in. thick. I then lay the patties directly on top of the frame right over the cluster of bees. I also make a pocket on top of the patty and put AP23 dry powder in the pocket. The bees love this stuff. They were eating a 8oz patty every couple day.  Works Great.”

AP-23 – what beekeepers say South Dakota – “I used Dadants new AP23 pollen substitute and I feel I had positive results, as there was NO observed product on the bottom boards or on the ground out front of the hive, and I also had more brood rearing in the hive.”

AP-23 Free-Choice Feeding Photo by Kevin Hale

AP-23 – what beekeepers say Customer who ordered 70,000+ lbs of AP-23 patties over past 2 seasons - “We have tried about every patty that is out on the market and nothing comes close to the AP23 patties. The bees absolutely love these patties, along with the ease of putting them on the bees, makes these patties a "no-brainer". Brood increases and overall healthy look of the bees make it the patties to use.”

AP-23 – what beekeepers say Kentucky – “I am extremely pleased with the product and the results I am seeing. As you know I am a firm believer that proper nutrition is one of the keys to success with bees. Over the last few years I have fed many different brands of protein powder but once I tested AP23 for a full year after it came out in 2014 I was sold on it. One of the most amazing things I noticed was the rate that the bees consumed it, the health of the bees and the increased brood production I have seen using it. We fed AP23 year round and we see hives with 2-3 frames of brood late February to early March and 14-15 frames brood by May 1st when honey production starts. Brood rearing continues all summer and fall at a tremendous pace and we see constantly 10-12 frames of brood in September, which means plenty of bees for winter. Brood production is critical for me in the production of nucs for sale and having large hives that can produce a large honey crop. We are averaging about 120# honey per hive and have had several hives hit the 170-190# mark.”

AP-23 Summary Consistent results - AP-23 preferred 2X-3X over all protein supplements that we tested it against. Repeat purchases by major commercial apiaries and hobby beekeepers. We recommend that you evaluate AP-23 in your apiary under your production conditions.

AP-23 QUESTIONS?