Sugar type

[Davidwd]

Hi all,

I am sure this question has been answered a thousand times but i cannot find it in the search results.

I want to make a syrup solution to give my new small colony a boost, i read you should not give normal sugar as it upsets the bees digestive system as it is from sugar beet. Is it best to give raw cane sugar made in to 1:1 syrup?
Thank you

David

 

[MJBee]

Answer number 1001

Both refined beet and refined cane are OK for any strength syrup

 

[Finman]

.
What do you mean "raw".
.

 

[MartinL]

Hi,
Any white sugar will do, it's brown sugar that gives them the runs!

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

The debate on here has been more or less continuous.

My mentor told me always to use cane sugar, and I have done so. Other, far more experienced beekeepers than me have said that beet sugar is just as good - they use it without problem.

So I guess that, like so many other things in life, you pays your money and ...

 

[Davidwd]

It is an unprocessed sugar.

David

 

[itma]

Is it best to give raw cane sugar made in to 1:1 syrup?

NO.

It is an unprocessed sugar.

Use any white ("refined") sugar.
Not raw, unprocessed, golden or brown -- from any source.

 

[MuswellMetro]

NEVER feed unrefined sugar

There is a minor difference between Cane sugar and Beet sugar in the amount of fructose ( higher in Cane sugar),

most inverted syrup fed to bees such as Ambrosia or Apiinvert is made by inverting Beet Sugar

 

[MartinL]

Just to widen the debate, Beet sugar could be more environmentally friendly, (only needs to be transported from main supply in England) but it MUST be Refined i.e.WHITE

 

[Poly Hive]

There is no debate.

There is as far as I can discover no odds between the two. In the ancient times of the 30's and so on then possibly there was either a difference or a perceived difference.

These days there is none.

PH

 

[Finman]

.
Mad!

 

[Chickenlicken]

I have heard that the seed used to produce sugar beet I'd coated with a neonicitaniod systemic insecticide (Imidicloprid or something similar), as it's systemic, the plant absorbs the insecticide and it becomes part of the plant. If this is the case then there is a chance that by feeding your bees with beet sugar you could be subjecting your bees to sublethal doses of insecticide.
As cane is grown from cuttings, this type of insecticide is not used, therefore in theory is safer.
I have only heard of this and have not had the time to do any research myself, so for me best safe than sorry- it'll be cane sugar for me until I can verify what I've heard. Philip chandler on bio eyes has a podcast of Imidicloprid and systemic insecticides. Can't remember the other sources I have heard it.
Regards
Clint

 

[Into the lions den]

I have only heard of this and have not had the time to do any research myself, so for me best safe than sorry- it'll be cane sugar for me until I can verify what I've heard.

Thats the kind of thinking that, particularly with bee feeds, gives those who indulge in 'negative marketing' license to rip off the easily alarmed.

The unfounded allegation from the vendors of one particular brand of bee feed syrup that all the other products are either (a) toxic to bees, or (b) produced by acid inversion and thus likely to cause dysentry, has a significant number of beekeepers scared to use anything else, and thus paying 300 quid a tonne more than they need to. The 'just in case there is any truth in it' moment of indecision is their opening to line their pockets.

Bottom line is that either source of white sugar is good bee food. *All* the current range of proprietry bee feed syrups are also excellent.

 

[madasafish]

I
As cane is grown from cuttings, this type of insecticide is not used, therefore in theory is safer.

Regards
Clint

If you did some research rather than quoting gossip, you would find insecticides are widely used on cane sugar to kill pests.
"The cane beetle (also known as cane grub) can substantially reduce crop yield by eating roots; it can be controlled with imidacloprid (Confidor) or chlorpyrifos (Lorsban)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane

 

[Chickenlicken]

If you did some research rather than quoting gossip, you would find insecticides are widely used on cane sugar to kill pests.
"The cane beetle (also known as cane grub) can substantially reduce crop yield by eating roots; it can be controlled with imidacloprid (Confidor) or chlorpyrifos (Lorsban)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarcane

Firstly no need to get personal or nasty. It was something I came across recently and was wondering if anybody had read any more into it. If it is gossip, then apologies for bringing it up. These insecticides have been banned in france and Germany due to their action in killing off bees.
Here is one articqle I'm reading:

http://www.buglife.org.uk/Resources/Buglife/revised neonics report.pdf

Im still reading it so cant comment on what it finds. I like to check the sources and see where bias lies, before making any decision. I was hoping somebody else could point me towards research carried out independently if they had looked into the claims. In any case I prefer to err on the side of caution with regards my bees.
Clint

 

[Quatermain]

David

To answer your question, use white granulated sugar and not raw or brown sugar as these can upset the bees stomach. Feed at ratio of 2lbs to 1pint or to make it simple if using a bucket feeder just fill just from the top with sugar (so you have some stirring room) and fill with hot water from the tap to the same level and stir lots.

The alternative this time of year is to feed candy but best not to cloud the issue for now. Good luck with the nuc. Hope you will enjoy bringing them on.

 

[For want of a better word]

Cane vs Beet

If you search through the forum the answers are there to find ..... Strontium was used to process beet sugar and another nasty nuclear type elements barium is required as a trace element for beets to grow and these facts were touted by the media journalists at the time to scare the less well educated away from using beet sugar.
Cane sugar however created a lot of wealth for a few in providing arsenic by the boat load to kill off pests in its culture...... We still have large areas of contaminated land here in Devon and Cornwall resulting from arsenic mining !

Provided it is white granulated buy the cheapest you can get!

Mix 1litre of pure tap water to 1kg of sugar

 

[tonybloke]

refined ( pure) sugar is just that, pure sugar ( A Hydro-Carbon )

any 'raw' sugar has many more compounds in it, not many of which are digestible by bees, and cause dysentry.

 

[iand]

Cane vs Beet

nuclear type elements barium is required as a trace element for beets to grow and these facts were touted by the media journalists at the time to scare the less well educated away from using beet sugar.

Probably hoping to confuse people, when they should have been saying boron. Which is often deficient on high ph soils & affects other root crops as well [my experince as not a beet grower]. The most important trace element likely to be deficient I gather is manganese. I don't ever recall seeing Barium in a list of trace elements.