>
> >Randy, if bees can consume sugar fondant in winter, why couldn't bees
> consume crystallized honey? The difference in consistency between the two
> isn't obvious to this 4-year, still-novice beek.


Mary, my only personal experience is with wintering on alfalfa honey, which
granulates, but reliquifies when warmed by the cluster, so was not a
problem for my bees.
So I am merely passing on observations from other beekeepers.

The ivy honey in Ireland and England can apparently crystallize so dry and
hard that the bees have trouble with it.  I don't fully understand, since
metabolic water would be expected to condense in the insulating shell of
bees, and thus be available for dissolving the crystals.  Read Bill
Truesdell's post for a possible explanation.

I recently spoke with Ian Steppler about the canola honey in Canada.  He
says that the honey from the currently-grown cultivars doesn't crystallized
as "hard" as that of older cultivars.


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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