I believe that tartaric acid added to sugar syrup has been removed from the
later issues of The Hive and the Honey Bee. Bailey, long ago, showed that
it reduced the number of over-wintered bees by about 15%. The reason it has
stayed around so long is it is near impossible for any of us without
precise measurements and controls to see a 15% difference.

Why is it still around? It is a classic instance of, "But we have always
done it that way".  Along with "I feed it and my bees come through the
winter fine."

BTW- he also found that the best overwintering feeds were Sucrose syrup
(not boiled) first,  then HFCS, and Honey last. This always elicits
objections because "Honey is the best feed for bees, since it has all the
additional minerals they need", which is true but not for winter since it
has the highest ash content and that is not desirable for long winters. Ash
is like fiber in our diet so when a bee gotta go it gotta go and, with no
winter cleansing flight, often in the hive. Result, wide spread dysentery.

Check the archives. Lots on this.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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