Someone put me straight..please?

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Itchy

Field Bee
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
766
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Location
Surrey
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
Lost count and can't keep up
As I understand it, bees stash a load of honey away for the winter period. Bee keepers remove it, and substitute it with water and refined white sugar.
Why is anyone surprised that bees struggle when we do this?
Can anyone explain how sugar solution comes even remotely close to honey in terms of nutrients?
 
SOME beekeepers remove all of it, we dont ALL do the same thing.
 
Understood Craig. Im curious as to why the Surat solution is seen as ok
 
The later flow here being ivy and maybe balsam....which would make sense as (apparently) ivy isn't very nice.
 
Some people say bees overwinter better on syrup.
That's just bonkers!

But you aren't keeping them in their natural environment. conventional beekeeping will keep the bees in tight cluster for longer periods. Thus A reduction in the nutrients vs a reduction in residues that need to be evacuated but can't , becomes the issue.
 
Never need to feed my bees much syrup, still bringing in balsam and ivy to fill their 14x12 boxes
 
As I understand it, bees stash a load of honey away for the winter period. Bee keepers remove it, and substitute it with water and refined white sugar.
Why is anyone surprised that bees struggle when we do this?
Can anyone explain how sugar solution comes even remotely close to honey in terms of nutrients?

You do realise that honey is very similar to sugar solution?
 
most of you are misrepresenting yourselves in this forum. You are Honeyproducers. And not bee keepers as you claim to be.
 
most of you are misrepresenting yourselves in this forum. You are Honeyproducers. And not bee keepers as you claim to be.

Please explain the difference.. too subtle for my poor brain..
 
Please explain the difference.. too subtle for my poor brain..

it didn't come across as subtle to me, but here's the implication as I read it:

honey producers - priority is commercial - takes honey and gives sugar to bees.
beekeepers - priority is the bees - leaves enough honey for bees to overwinter.
 
If you are not interested in producing honey why do you keep bees?
The other 20000 bee species are as interesting and worth our care as apis mellifera. And what about ants or the other millions of insect species.
 
I don't think it's quite as black and white as that, it's just a difference of emphasis... does someone take 40 jars of honey and give the bees sugar, or take 30 jars of honey and leave them some honey to winter on?
 
it didn't come across as subtle to me, but here's the implication as I read it:

honey producers - priority is commercial - takes honey and gives sugar to bees.
beekeepers - priority is the bees - leaves enough honey for bees to overwinter.
That's a pretty sweeping generalisation.

The fact that I enjoy getting honey from my bees, and also sell it, to recuperate some of the money I spend on the bees, certainly does not mean they are not a priority to me.

That is I think true for most beekeepers /honey producers, however you want to label us.

If you are in it for the money I think your chances are better being an online stock trader than a beekeeper, unless you do it in a big and professional way.

Most of us do it as a part-time hobby, because we have an interest in bees. The honey is nice to get but not the main thing. If it was about the honey it would be easier, and cheaper, to buy it from a shop.

Honey is expensive, sugar is not. Once you have harvested your honey there is nothing wrong with feeding your bees if they need it.

Truth is, if your bees make a lot of honey, it is normally because they are healthy, happy and well looked after.
 
Last edited:
well, it does come back then to Itchy's original question...

Could robbing the honey and replacing it with sugar over winter be detrimental to the bees?
 

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