LABORATORY COMPARISON OF HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, GRAPE SYRUP, HONEY,
AND SUCROSE SYRUP AS MAINTENANCE FOOD FOR CAGED HONEY BEES
Roy J. BARKER Yolanda LEHNER
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Bee
Research Laboratory, 2000 East Allen Road, Tucson, Arizona 85719

SUMMARY
Honey or high fructose corn syrup fed to worker bees failed to show
any advantage over sucrose syrup. Grape syrup caused dysentery and
reduced survival. Survival was longest on sucrose syrup, and the
difference was significant. Survival on grape syrup was reduced
significantly. The difference between honey and high fructose corn was
non-significant (Table 1).

Apidologie 9 (1978) 111-116
Free access article

Bob writes:

Consider *if* the research of Dr. Gregory and the research done at Tucson in
 1977 by Roy Barker are correct in that bees fed HFCS live half as long as
 bees fed sucrose then like in both studies the bees would die in the last
 few weeks of life. A similar situation to bees with nosema.

Sucrose fed bees lived 57 days; HFCS = 38 days; honey = 31 days; grape
syrup = 13 days. Apparently the point is not that bees do worse on
honey or corn syrup, but that they do better on sucrose. At least, in
cages.

Which is what I have always said, but the organic types don't want to
hear that !  By the way, what does it mean to say "bees die in the
last few weeks of life"? Don't we all?

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