>And what about years when the weather dictates the food stores within the 
hive? There are times, when it isn't the bees fault that 
>they are light on stores going into winter...or at any time of the 
>year. Drought, rain, cold....all can control the bees ability to feed 
>themselves. And if you haven't honey to feed back, do you let 
>your bees starve, because you refuse to feed sugar?


This is a good question!
I’m not going to suggest that one should or should not feed, because this 
is up to each individual beekeeper to decide.

If you look at this from the perspective that “all beekeepers are breeders 
of bees“, and must therefore make critical decisions throughout the season 
to ensure he or she is breeding the best stock, some problems arise.  When 
feeding implemented due to the extreme environmental conditions, you make 
impossible for any further effective assessments to be made for genetics 
that may be more fit for these swings in the climatic conditions that 
occur more often than not. 

And if all colonies are feed equally, this might equalize out the  
performance throughout the apiaries making it difficult for the beekeeper 
to make accurate colony assessments during the fall and spring on which 
colonies are outperforming for breeding purposes.,,,
Any assessments that do identify the out-performers in fed colonies might 
be more reflective of which colonies are better at ‘taking up feed’ rather 
than at foraging in the fluctuating  environmental conditions they must be 
compete and survive in’.  

Best Wishes,

Joe Waggle 
Ecologicalbeekeeping.com 
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' 
Feral Bee Project:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/

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