in 2008 we read:

> Two PhD microbiologists from Lund University in Sweden presented the most novel research discovery regarding honey. Their research is yet to be published. One notable comment from their presentation was in regard to the care and feeding of bees themselves. Lactobacilli, bacteria that deliver protective and beneficial benefits to both bees and humans, were not found in bee’s honey stomach during the winter months when the bees under investigation were fed sucrose, indicating that certain bee-feeding practices may have dangerous and unwanted affects on bees.

Their research *was* published in 2010, but there is  no mention of the "dangerous" practice of feeding sugar nor the absence of lactobacilli in winter. Did they forget to put that in? 

> A novel flora composed of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium has recently been identified in the honey stomach of honey bees, A. mellifera. -- Novel lactic acid bacteria inhibiting Paenibacillus larvae in honey bee larvae. Eva Forsgren, Tobias C. Olofsson, Alejandra Vasquez, Ingemar Fries

The idea that feeding sugar causes disease in bees was beaten to death over at Bee Source, and it doesn't deserve any credence here. On the other hand, Gloria Grandi de Hoffman and Diane Sammataro found a much more serious connection between fungicides and gut flora:

> Honey bee colonies harbor a wide range of microbes, many of which play vital roles in the preservation and digestion of pollen. From our pilot studies, we found that bee bread made from pollen contaminated with fungicides has a lower diversity of microbes compared with bee bread made from uncontaminated pollen. -- The effects of fungicides on the diversity of microbes in stored pollen and the physiological repercussions on worker and queen honey bees. Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, Kirk Anderson, Mark Carroll, Bruce Eckholm, and Diana Sammataro

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