Bees storeing sugar water ? any studies

1117 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by WayneW, May 13, 2009

PCM_old

Discussion Starter · May 11, 2009

On the inter-net boards you hear a lot of "talk" about bees storing
sugar water in the cells, and they have frames of sugar water honey.

I question this, I often say get a book look it up, but so far I haven't found any research.

The way I see it the bees use the sugar water for their own nutretion they do not transport it back to a cell for storage.

Now if they did take it for storage, wouldn't it have to go thru the bees honey making process before going into the cell then the moisture reduced to honey/water percent before capped ? Thus making it into honey !

I've talked to two small commercial beekeepers and they both said if it's in a capped cell it's honey.

I've been wrong a FEW times before so just wondering if any one knows about any research on this.

You can tell I'm bored, just another 3/4 in of rain today, about 10 in. this past week, AND, another week of rain predicted.

Thanks
PCM

Save

1 - 1 of 3 Posts

indypartridge

· #2 · May 11, 2009

PCM said:
The way I see it the bees use the sugar water for their own nutretion they do not transport it back to a cell for storage.

Yes they do. I can't cite any studies, but I've seen it in my own hives when I had to feed them late winter/early spring. Also, at a Children's Museum about an hour from me, they have an (indoor) observation hive. The bees are fed sugar water all thru the winter, and you can see them storing and capping it.

Now if they did take it for storage, wouldn't it have to go thru the bees honey making process before going into the cell then the moisture reduced to honey/water percent before capped ? Thus making it into honey !

Except that the base is refined sugar and not nectar. It's adulterated honey. At the museum I mentioned above, they've done extraction demonstrations and their 'honey' looks and tastes like sugar syrup.

Save

1 - 1 of 3 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month