>  There was a time years long past when bag sugar was used here in
> California. Those day's are only a remembrance for most. Having had the
> experience of unloading a few car loads of bagged sugar and mixing and
> feeding it to bees I can report without any reservations that there is
> nothing better then liquid HFCS for bee feed...
 
We're able to buy sucrose syrup by the tanker load from the refiner,
just like HFCS.  It comes at 67% strength and is very suitable for feed
right out of the tanker.
 
Occasionally the delivered price of HFCS is below that of sucrose and in
that case we use the HFCS in summer.  I personally like HFCS better than
sucrose -- even if we do have to water it down on arrival so that it is
thin enough to handle, since it is not so nasty (hard on the hands) to
handle and does not scum over if left open to dry air.  I find the bees
really like HFCS and do well.  However I've read that in tests it was
slightly less attractive to the bees and also less 'hot' for stimulating
buildup than sucrose syrup.
 
I'm leary about HFCS for winter use since our bees are confined for long
periods.  In caged bee tests cited by Currie,  longevity was reduced by
about 1/3 -- as I recall -- and that would be enough to have our bees die
just as the spring starts, since they are often confined for up to 5 or 6
months.  In an area where other feed comes in to dilute it and the bees
are able to fly more often, I doubt that this effect would be noticed, if
it even exists in such conditions.
 
More info about HFCS and inverts can be found in the logs.
 
Allen
 
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