>    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.  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.
 
In practice, honey always has some sucrose in it.  Various regulations allow up
to 10% in some specialized cases (acacia).  If the invertase inverted all the
sucrose, why would there always be some left?  Prevailing plant, weather, soil
and geographic conditions will alter the composition of the natural nectar and
hence we get a wide range of variation in the outcome of honey produced from
different plants/regions etc.
 
A good example is the addition of Boron in the soil has shown to have an effect
on the quanitity of Fructose in clover (t. repens) nectar (but I can't rememer
whether it is more or less [fructose]).
 
It would appear that the invertase inverts some but not all of the sucrose and
the higher the amount of sucrose, the more that is left over once the "honey" is
ripened.
 
If you feed sugar (sucrose) syrup and intend selling your product in a market
that regulates the amount of sucrose allowed in honey, you do so at your peril.
 
Regards
Peter Bray
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