At 12:41 AM 7/16/98 -0400, you wrote:
 
>That said, it's my understanding that bee's have invertase in their =
>stomach which inverts sucrose (table sugar) to fructose and glucose.  =
>Inverted sugar is sweeter than sucrose.
 
Its true bees can invert sucrose but it will in time use them up. Its
better to feed sugar that is already a inverted sugar and not burn your
bees out.
 
>Hence, it is impossible for bees to store the syrup that I feed them as
sucrose syrup.  The bee's
>may store the syrup that I feed them, but it will be modified/inverted and
sweeter than the syrup that I >feed them.
 
Yes this also is true it becomes a super saturated solution of sugar syrup.
The bees will mix it with nectar from flowers blooming in your area.
 
>With that in mind, I have no hesitation to continue to feed the bees syrup
as long as they take it.
 
This is OK with me but it could be less expensive to buy honey for your
table and to feed your bees as after you feed your bees all this sugar
anything you remover from your hive will be OK for you to eat but it will
not be legal to sell it as "Honey" or "Pure Honey" as it will remain a
product not unlike manufactured sugar syrup that you can buy for a fraction
of the cost of honey ready to eat.
 
It would be interesting to see how much sugar syrup one hive will take. I
am sure it would be in the hundreds of gallons and compare that to what you
could recover which would be a small percentage of what they would take in
and could even approach zero.
 
Good Luck,
ttul, the OLd Drone
http://beenet.com