"overcome this 'greed' by feeding back sugar water but sugar water is not honey."

No, sugar water is not honey.  In controlled tests of sugar water versus honey for wintering the colonies with sugar water either did just as well as those with honey or did better than those with honey.  All in all it appears sugar water is better than at least some honeys.

This might be expected.  After all, the only thing of any consequence that bees get from honey is calories from carbohydrates.  There are no other nutrients in honey at concentrations that are biologically significant in a positive sense.  But, there are things in at least some honey that are negative in a biological sense.  Those negative things range from indigestible sugars to ash to the toxic essential oils none of which are found in stores made from sugar.

Dick 

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