>  Now I have a question. What test can you do to check if you have good
> corn syurp. I can get some at a good price  , but my little ladies have
> to get only something good.I can get it tested but I need to know what we
> are looking for in bad corn syurp.
 
From what I can understand of the results of recent investigations, there
are *many* ways to make bad corn syrup, but if you stick to on-spec HFCS,
you should be okay, especially for spring feed.
 
First, let's be sure to call it 'HFCS' (High Fructose Corn Syrup), not just
'corn syrup'.  There are many syrups, and this is the *one* that is good --
if it is made to specs.
 
To get good syrup you need *HFCS type 55* that meets the following
criteria:
 
1. Syrup that is first class, not off-spec
2. Syrup that has been produced by enzymatic inversion, *not* acid
   hydroysis
3. Syrup that is white like water -- no colour
4. Syrup that the seller will warrant for bee feed and is willing to
    provide specs for. Get it in writing.
 
What may indicate problems:
 
1. pH under 5.0 -- the closer to 7, the better.  Reduce to 40% sugars and
   test with a garden soil acidity tester kit. A bee's gut is pH 6
2. HMF (hyrdromethyfurfural) readings under 40 PPM (at 120 PPM, HMF
   becomes toxic, and FWIW, 8 year old honey can run 800 PPM HMF)
3. Any significant amount of colour when in a sample jar is bad news.
 
In caged bee studies, nothing matches sucrose syrup for bee survival, but
the on-spec HFCS was a lot better than the off-spec stuff, which was
lethal.  Off-spec is normally sold for animal feed, and should never be fed
to bees, particularly those that are confined.
 
Free flying bees, and those that have other food can tolerate off-spec
syrup better, but, what the heck -- why gamble with your livelihood?
 
 
Allen Dick                                  VE6CFK
Rural Route One, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
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