Feeding honey back

[Erichalfbee]

1. You don't need to dilute it. Honey 50 50 with water gives a solution that's only 41% approx. sugars. Thinner than thin syrup and ferments almost as you look at it! Honey contains many natural yeast and mould spores.
2. Must do it INSIDE the hive to prevent robbing and it does not need any special treatment. Just cover it with straw or similar till you can only see a little of the honey and they will tidy it up spotless, then just tip out the dry straw.
3. We NEVER feed honey to our bees for fear of disease transmission, even if we know the source. But we have done this with golden syrup acquired due to being out of code, many tonnes of it, and it works just fine with no dilution and the covering material as described. That's even drier than honey so the idea dilution is required just aint so.

Griffo....listen to this chap. He knows more than most of us here

 

[Into the lions den]

Interesting that you fed golden syrup.

Well I had my doubts too, so, despite being gifted 4 tonnes of it from a local bulk trader I experimented with two hives only going into winter.

Feared all the usual scare story stuff and that it might give them dysentery.

Not a bit of it. They took the lot down with gusto and over wintered perfectly on it, and pretty well it alone. Drew wax, laid brood etc prior to winter.

Just tipped 15Kg into a hivetop feeder, removed the barrier, covered it liberally with straw (means you can hardly see the syrup...sparser covering costs dead bees as I am sure was the issue for another poster), and let them get on with it.

All hunky dory. Fed the rest, and another batch, the following autumn and all was fine.

Used a stack this summer too (and brown sugar too) for nuc feeding, mainly because I got it for buttons. All seems perfect, but they will get a full feed of nice clean invert syrup before winter.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Well I had my doubts too, so, despite being gifted 4 tonnes of it from a local bulk trader I experimented with two hives only going into winter.

Feared all the usual scare story stuff and that it might give them dysentery.

Not a bit of it. They took the lot down with gusto and over wintered perfectly on it, and pretty well it alone. Drew wax, laid brood etc prior to winter.

Just tipped 15Kg into a hivetop feeder, removed the barrier, covered it liberally with straw (means you can hardly see the syrup...sparser covering costs dead bees as I am sure was the issue for another poster), and let them get on with it.

All hunky dory. Fed the rest, and another batch, the following autumn and all was fine.

Used a stack this summer too (and brown sugar too) for nuc feeding, mainly because I got it for buttons. All seems perfect, but they will get a full feed of nice clean invert syrup before winter.

Thanks for the response and it's interesting that brown sugar is also being used. I wonder where the original scare stories about these materialised?
Maybe lessons to be learnt about taking old wives tales at face value?

 

[Into the lions den]

Thanks for the response and it's interesting that brown sugar is also being used. I wonder where the original scare stories about these materialised?
Maybe lessons to be learnt about taking old wives tales at face value?

I would not take the chance of using brown sugar as winter food. Same reason honey, and especially heather honey and honeydew, are poorer winter food than white sugar. Indigestibles accumulating in the gut in long periods without bee flight. My livestock is too valuable to kill it whilst saving a few pounds on their winter stores.

But then.......

According to certain circles (like vegans for example) we are poisoning our bees with syrup or anything else derived from white sugar. On the assumption that is true (and of course if its anti big ag it MUST be true), then we should all try poisoning our bees. That is probably why I get good winter survival rates.

 

[Anduril]

I would not take the chance of using brown sugar as winter food. Same reason honey, and especially heather honey and honeydew, are poorer winter food than white sugar. Indigestibles accumulating in the gut in long periods without bee flight. My livestock is too valuable to kill it whilst saving a few pounds on their winter stores.

But then.......

According to certain circles (like vegans for example) we are poisoning our bees with syrup or anything else derived from white sugar. On the assumption that is true (and of course if its anti big ag it MUST be true), then we should all try poisoning our bees. That is probably why I get good winter survival rates.

I interpreted as corn syrup, not sugar syrup from these vegan sites.

 

[Anduril]

1. You don't need to dilute it. Honey 50 50 with water gives a solution that's only 41% approx. sugars. Thinner than thin syrup and ferments almost as you look at it! Honey contains many natural yeast and mould spores.

I know a beekeeper who does exactly that and leaves around 4 supers of honey with a roof and floor in the apiary.