Hi Dave & All,

>     Get this and get this clear: WE DO NOT PRODUCE SUGAR
> HONEY!
>
>     Quit muddying the discussion with your muddy thinking.
>

It's being muddied in both directions, some beekeepers do muddy the honey
with sugar syrup feed. WE may not be producing sugar honey but the bees can
and do produce a artificial honey from the feeding of sugar syrup. You may
be 100% positively sure that you have not got any artificial honey in the
combs you extract but I would bet that some beekeepers who prefer to feed
right up to the honey flow get some artificial honey in some of their combs
that they extract. A test for whether or not someone's honey has abnormal
levels of sucrose in their honey can be done for around $40.00 USF from some
labs. Here is a URL for a lab that does the test; http://www.csl-sira.com/
If on the other hand a beekeeper never fed sugar syrup to the bees
(like myself) that beekeeper knows that the honey their bees produce will
not be artificial.

>    You make some good points at times. We do have to seek
> alternatives to pesticides, not only for our bees, but all throughout
> agriculture.
>
>      But on this issue you are just harping, not helping.
>

And it would seem you are harping back trying your best to defend and
legitimize sugar syrup feed. A beekeeper does not have to feed sugar syrup
to keep bees alive during nectar dearths. There are methods that are used by
beekeepers that requires no sugar syrup feed.

If I may ask Keith Benson if he can tell this group of what happened this
year with the bees he keeps (some large cell bees and some small cell bees)
during what beekeepers in his area of South Carolina called a nectar dearth?
Also Keith, your in SC just like Dave, Do you feed your bees or do you leave
honey on for the nectar dearths?

Keith,"Breaking the rules here in Alaska keeping bees alive in winter and
not
feeding sugar syrup for our six to seven month winter nectar dearth." Malone
   . ..
c(((([
Keith Malone
Chugiak, Alaska USA
Caucasian Bee Keeper
[log in to unmask]
http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/

Check out current weather in my area and 5 day forecast;
http://www.wx.com/myweather.cfm?ZIP=99654

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