In addition to what Medhat said, the sugar quickly undergoes acid
hydrolysis and breaks down into glucose and fructose.  It appears that the
fructose acts as a humectant and make the solution "stickier, as well as
keeping some of the OA in solution, perhaps making it more toxic to the
mites.

In some areas of Europe, beekeepers are replacing the sugar with glycerin.
That's the reason that Schneider performed the studies that I cited--to
find alternatives to sugar that bees wouldn't consume.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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