Jim writes: "Robin's points might be valid concerns in regard to an uniformed

beekeeper who feeds just before a bloom, feeds when supers are on,

or has no idea of the amount of stores a colony might require for

his area and weather, but basic ignorance or errors are no excuse

to condemn "feeding" as "incompatible with producing pure honey".

A just rebuke, at the end of an excellent essay on the correct use of sugar feeding. But note the included caveat - ' an uninformed beekeeper'. Bees and beekeeping is a very big subject, the more you find out the more you realise how little you know. To become informed takes time and application. 

In the meantime, I believe it is safer to treat bees with respect and follow nature. This means asking yourself at ever stage 'how will the bees interpret what I have just done? You think, 'I have added a super to give room for the flow due next week'. The bees think: "Hey, our cavity just got bigger - we have to re-optimise our nest, work out if it would be wise use of resources to build out a little more comb now or wait for better weather, perhaps we could risk enlarging the brood area a bit, let's start by shifting some stores around." 

The art of beekeeping (in my view) begins when you understand the bee colony as a sophisticated organisation that has learnt to optimise its performance (measured in its own terms, not ours) through 'resource management'. Swarming is a prime example - swarming is the end purpose of the colony (reproduction) but is highly risky - three quarters of wild' swarms are dead within a year. Colonies measure factors such as population, food reserves, area of comb, vitality of the queen and decide in winter whether to start swarm preparations months later in late spring. (See Prof Mark Winston, 'Biology of the Honeybee). 'Resource Management' is a difficult skill  - learn it and you can command a high salary in business. 

So let me add one more suggestion to my list for 'natural beekeeping':

12.  As a beginner, proceed as above. As soon as possible, build up your apiary to say 10 stocks and run for at least 10 years - less and you will not have experience of enough variations in seasons or of strains of bee. Study your records and the best bee books. Then read Jim's essay on sugar feeding, and if sure you understand it, see if you could help your stocks to achieve more of their natural potential by using the judicious, conscientious and careful methods he describes. Until then, do not risk your honey quality - and the reputation of beekeeper's honey in general - by interfering with the natural order within the hive before you can accurately predict the results.
Apologies to all list readers for taking all this air time. The weather here is awful - so just keeping myself busy. Hope it interests those of you also stuck at home. Respects to Jim, and my envy to anyone lifting heavy boxes in blistering sunshine. 

Robin Dartington 

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