At 16:10 +0100 2/12/99, Stefan Stangaciu wrote:
 
>    The bees are doing fine in Europe as in many other parts of our world
>for millions of years without any refined sugar.
 
They don't do so well if they run out of food in the winter
 
>    Their anatomy is prepared to support long winters.
 
And they need something to eat to do so.
 
>    If this wouldn't be the case, they wouldn't survive until now, isn't it
>my friends?
 
They didn't have varroa until recently, and when we share their honey, we
may have to help them in the winter.
 
>    On the other hand, here in Romania, we have always in winter
>(January-February usually) a couple of warm  days which are enough for the
>bees to make their cleansing.
>
>    Somebody may think that the bees needs in winter only "energy" and for
>this reason sugar is just fine...
>
>    In order to give energy, warmness for example, not only dynamic
>energy, a cell or a group of cells needs also enzymes, vitamins, trace
>elements.
 
They have enough of these enzymes in their cells that they can metabolize
sugar just fine. Maybe they can't do it forever, but it serves to fill in
the gaps.
 
>    Refined sugar has NOTHING from the above mentioned elements my dear
>friends... and it is a "foreign" substance (a "non-self" if you want)
>from the evolution point of view.
 
No doubt there are some substances in some honeys that are not beneficial
to bees also. They have to eliminate or breakdown these substances. Bee's
don't grow after they emerge, so their protein needs are low. They collect
pollen and salts to get needed minerals to augment natural honey and they
have to do the same to augment sugar. When you break things down into
natural=good and manmade=bad you are oversimplyfying a complex sistuation.
They can't raise larvae on honey alone any more than they can raise larvae
on sugar alone.
 
I just started a hive in December with no stores, feeding only refined
sugar. The bees are able to forage some for pollen now and are now raising
lots of brood. WIthout the refined sugar, these bee's would have died.
 
Paul