>  This ist best shown by the recent discussion of overwinterung on
>  different honey-sugar types. There are numerous scientific papers on
>  it...

I thought that maybe it would be useful to fill in here for those who still
wondering, after reading this whole thread, about winter feeding.  There are
lots of good articles on the topic in the archives and elsewhere, but to
summarise:

Honey and sugar are both equally good winter feed

1.)  IF the honey is properly ripened, not fermenting, light in color, low
in solids,
     not years old, and from a source that does not granulate hard as a rock
or
     have other serious deficiencies.

2.)  IF the sugar in question is

      a.) highly refined white table sugar and is clean, pure, and not from
a source
          that is questionable.
      b.) properly fed in sufficient ime that the bees can store it as they
would honey.

Otherwise, the question gets more complicated, but here are some points to
consider:

* HFCS is is not quite as good as either good honey or sugar.

* Some off-spec HFCS is deadly.

* Some honey can be deadly, since it contains toxins, too many solids, or is
too hard
   for the bees to liquefy.

* There is room to debate subtle features of various honies, sugar, etc.,
but
  using pure sugar properly or good honey properly stored will give about
  equal success -- all things considered.

No, I am not going to cite studies, or go over the whole discussion of every
wrong way to feed bees for winter.  Don't ask.

Trust me.

BEE HAVER

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