>    Can you explain to me what inverted syrup is and how does one make
  >it? Does it mean that you mix it very thick,or boil it? Can you give me
  >your recipe that you have used successfully?
 
The simple and short answer is that you don't make it, it is what bees
make from the nectar they gather. So if you feed inverted sugar you are
giving your bees a rest because in inverting nectar or sugar the
bees consume or use up what ever it is they add and by doing so shorten
their own lives so feeding inverted sugars is smart if the cost is not
way out of line. This is assuming that feeding bees is not in the
emergency mode, then a different set of priorities prevail and the
concern is getting the food into them before they run out of gas.
 
I won't go into the details on how the sugar companies manufacture
invert sugars other then to say that there are several methods depending
on the raw sugar stock you start with, one using chemicals, and one uses
enzymes and a very complicated system of mechanical processes. Lucky for
us we can buy the products after they have been inverted.
 
Inverted sugar syrups or HFC corn syrups are commercial products that
you can buy from your bee supply house such as Dandant's, sugar brokers,
or direct from the sugar manufacturer. Small beekeepers should search out
other beekeepers to pool orders, or larger commercial beekeepers who
normally buy in truck load lots to save money.
 
Beekeepers this area buy according to price, and use. Many use blends
of HFC and inverted sugar syrups in the spring and will then cut them
with a small amount of water. In the fall they will feed the heavy
syrups without additional water.
 
A product called DRIVERT which is a dry inverted sugar is another
product that can be used for feeding bees. It comes in 50# bags and
because it is inverted the bees can use it with ease as it is very
easy for them to turn it into a liquid. The bees do not burn out
as fast as they do when using normal sugar or sugar syrups that
are not inverted. Because this is a premium product used in the baking
industry for fondant's it is pricey. One way to overcome the high price is
to use it as a starter with ordinary granulated sugar if you have some
way to mix it using one 50# bag to 200# or more of granulated sugar you
can make a product that will be superior to granulated sugar and all
most as good as straight DRIVERT. This type of sugar can be used in a
inside walk in-feeder normally used with liquid sugars. Dry sugar
feeding avoids the problem of robbing in small hives, and is seldom
wasted because of a leaking feeder or change in weather. DRIVERT or
similar products are more costly, but all other sugars wet or dry are
sold on the dry weight of the actual sugars and you don't pay for the
water, or in some cases even the fright of the water.
 
I have often wondered about adding a 50# bag of DRIVERT to 500 gallons
of type O sugar syrup and running some tests with the bees, but never
got around to doing it. Type O sugar is what you make just melting
granulated sugar in water, and is still used in package feeder cans
by some beekeepers and in the spring if the price is low enough. It is
purchased in liquid form the same as inverted or HFC corn sugars.
 
TM can be used with dry sugars. Don't know of any other things that are
permitted that could be used such as pesticides or stinking oils. But I
would not be surprised if they could be added to the dry sugar after it
is placed in the hive with some results?
 
All sugar manufactures love to sell to beekeepers because they are a off
season buyer and at least in the past in the west have provided full
technical information on products for the asking including on site
preparations for building receiving stations, pumps, and the like.
Sometimes beekeepers can make deals to receive half loads and have it
pumped into 55 gallon drums so many beekeepers who only need small
amounts can be served.
 
Technically there is no difference between beet, cane, or hfc corn
syrups as far as feeding bees. Politically it was to the advantage
of the corn syrup industry NOT to call their products "sugar" and avoid
the regulations, quota's, fixed field labor rates, and much government
BS of the cane and beet sugars growers and industry. They have since
displaced a large percentage of the worlds cane and beet sugar producers
and are still growing but at a slower rate because of over capacity that
has kept all the sugar prices competitive. Corn syrups offer no
advantage to beekeepers over cane or beet sugars other then price and
beekeepers should be aware of any price differentials and buy
accordingly.
                           ttul, the OLd Drone
 
 
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---
 ~ QMPro 1.53 ~ ... I said, but just to be a bee