quote:

>Honey bee feeding behavior consists of a distinct series of behavioral and physiological processes. Nectar, honeydew, soft drinks, and other sugar-rich fluids are best viewed as simple energy sources needed by bees to power their flight, to synthesize wax, and for thermoregulation. As such, these materials are of little nutritional interest and are not discussed further. Pollen, on the other hand, provides all the nutrients needed by bees for growth and development rather than energy production.

from:

Survival of Honey Bees, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Fed Various Pollen Sources
JUSTIN 0. SCHMIDT, STEVEN C. THOENES, AND M. D. LEVIN
Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, 2000 East Allen Road, Tucson, Arizona 85719
http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/publ/survival.html


The book"Honey Bee Pests, Predators, and Diseases" edited by Morse and Flottum (1997) there are no references to any diseases caused by feeding sugar to bees. In fact, the only connection between nutrition and disease that I could find was this:

"Crowding of colonies where the individual hive has difficulty in supporting its need for pollen may increase the risk of nosema disease. Supplying honey bee colonies with protein, either by supplementary feeding or by using apiary sites with rich pollen supplies, reduces the level of infection."

PB