Inverted sugar syrup? Anyone tried it?

[merylvingien]

I found a link on the web somewhere that described the method of making inverted sugar syrup, apparently this stuff is more like nectar than the tackle you make up in 2 mins.

It has something called cream of tartar if anyone knows what thats all about?

Anyway, once mixed, its supposed to last 6 months or so...

Thoughts?

 

[Mike a]

I use a teaspoon of real lemon juice per pint. Prepare in the same way boil the water, add the sugar and the lemon juice.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I made some up with lemon juice too.
You can invert sugar by simply boiling it for 20 minutes but there is always a danger of caramalising it. I think lemon juice or cream of tartar ( a constituent of baking powder) act to speed the process up and reduce the need for boiling.

 

[Black Comb]

You can also buy it - brand name Ambrosia.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Boiling up sugar syrup can also make it toxic,poisonous to bee's. Cream of tartar used to be used in candy,but was not good for bee's.

 

[merylvingien]

Mmmmm, i was going to try some, but your putting me off Hivemaker! LOL

 

[Black Comb]

Ambrosia is usually used as a winter feed and is the equivalent of 2:!.

It doesn't ferment so can be kept a long time.

 

[susbees]

Pound of water to the boil, add a pound of cane sugar to dissolve then invert with half a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Kilos are so fiddlesome .

 

[merylvingien]

Once sugar is in, how long do i boil for? Or do i stop boiling at that point?

 

[Mike a]

Once the water is boiling I turn off the heat remove the pan from the ring add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

My problem has been getting them to take it. Only method that has worked for me is a frame feeder, all the other feeder types I've tried have been a waste of money.

 

[Haughton Honey]

Why don't you just add Thymol to your syrup instead?.....does the same job as the lemon juice mentioned above but also does a great deal of good for the bees.

 

[susbees]

Why don't you just add Thymol to your syrup instead?.....does the same job as the lemon juice mentioned above but also does a great deal of good for the bees.

How could it do this? Thymol is an anti-fungicide and slows fermentation.

It takes an acid and heat to invert sugar....citric or malic or similar (both of which are found in honey).

 

[m100]

It takes an acid to invert sugar

Or an enzyme, just like the bees will do if you feed them sucrose

Acid inverting sugar for bees and boiling syrup is just about the best way to ensure you kill your bees (by giving them similar symptoms to a bad bout of Nosema)

Use white sugar, add hot water out the tap or from a kettle that is just off the boil to dissolve it, then top up with cold.

No need for boiling, or acid or any other buggering about.

 

[Hivemaker.]

No need for boiling, or acid or any other buggering about.

Spot on M100, quite agree.

 

[Peter Cox]

I found a link on the web somewhere that described the method of making inverted sugar syrup, apparently this stuff is more like nectar than the tackle you make up in 2 mins.

It has something called cream of tartar if anyone knows what thats all about?

Anyway, once mixed, its supposed to last 6 months or so...

Thoughts?

Cream of tartar is often called for in Fondant recipes in the US. It does invert sugar. You have to be careful. It is reckoned to be somewhat poisonous to bees.

 

[johnfly]

i just add cold water and white sugar together whisk it up, leave it to settle, then whisk again a couple of times and its done, no wasting money heating water up and they take it every time

 

[Finman]

.
To make inverted sugar is over 50 years old trick, but I have never hear that it does some usefull to bees.

None of modern nutrition document recommends inverting. It is said that sugar is the second best food to bees after honey.

 

[tonybloke]

No need for boiling, or acid or any other buggering about.

Spot on M100, quite agree.

 

[RoofTops]

Boiling sugar raises the HMF level and HMF is toxic to bees. This is why commercial invert sugar feeds for bees are inverted using enzymes.

 

[Finman]

.
The bee itself has enzymes which split cane sugar.
They need not any inverting.

Inverting = splitting cane sugar to fructose and glucose.

INGESTION AND DIGESTION

Food enters the alimentary canal by way of the mouth and passes through the esophagus to the honey stomach. In the honey stomach hydrolyzing enzymes break down the principal sucrose of nectar to the simpler monosaccharides glucose and fructose present in honey. Immediately behind the honey stomach is the proventricular value or honey stopper. It retains the nectar load in the honey stomach, controls passage of food into the midgut or ventriculus, and prevents food substances in the midgut from returning to the honey stomach.[/B] http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/bkcd/hbbiology/nutrition_supplements.htm


Maarec is a consortion of 6 universities in USA

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