Typical nectar sources consist of a mix of the sugars sucrose, fructose and glucose, plus traces of other sugars sometimes.  For a great many nectars sucrose is the main sugar.  Bees produce a number of proteins that they add to nectar.  One protein is invertase which converts the sucrose to fructose and glucose.  Other proteins are biocides and still others make the honey acidic.  All of these processes are aimed at making a product that will store without fermentation in the hive.  I doubt very much if the addition of these proteins is under voluntary control.  My bet is simply tasting sugars triggers production and addition of these proteins.  If anyone has determined which bees add the proteins I have not seen the reference.  It could be field bees or the bees that concentrate the nectar brought back to the hive or both.

At any rate, it has always been a puzzle to me as to why anyone would go to the bother of inverting sucrose before feeding it to their bees.  The bees are perfectly capable of inverting sucrose without any help at all and without adding known toxic components like tartaric acid and without the risk of making HMF during the inversion.  It is also a total puzzle to me why some people add apple cider vinegar, or honey bee healthy to their sugar solutions.  I have never seen any studies that showed adding either accomplished any positive goal.

I can understand why some add a bit of bleach to the sugar solutions.  It inhibits bacterial and fungal growth.  On the other hand I have never seen feeding sugar solutions that had growing bacterial or fungal colonies to my bees harmed them in the slightest so I do not bother with the bleach either.

Dick

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