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From:
Allen Dick <[log in to unmask]>
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Date:
Fri, 8 Nov 1996 22:51:51 -0600
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> If I extract this honey it is a light straw color and is "sweeter"
> than the normal spring flow honey.  If I feed this back to the hive,
> do I not get into the question of what effect feeding honey back to
> the hive can have?
 
Well, it's hard to say, but it seems that this is likely sugar syrup.
 If so, then it may contain any drugs you may have fed, and thus
should not be eaten by humans.
 
Feeding it back is not likely a *huge* problem.  When I was saying
that feeding back extracted honey is not a good idea, I perhaps
should have made it clearer that normally it is not a fatal practice
-- many good beekeepers do it routinely -- but that I have
occasionally observed some effects on the bees such as their becoming
greasy and poor looking.
 
Of course if this syrup was extracted from the same bees you are
feeding, and especially if it still contains drugs, the normal
warnings against disease will not apply.
>
> With 10 hives I end up with up to 9 gallons of this stuff
 
How many gallons of syrup did you feed?  This might be a clue...
 
> and I have
> some people who really like the taste of this "honey" and want more.
>  At present I am giving the stuff away in bottles that do not have a
> honey label so as to not misrepresent the product.
 
If the syrup was not fed during medicating, it is likely harmless,
however it should be sold as syrup, if at all.
 
> p.s.: I have heard of some producers feeding syrup to their bees
> year round to increase honey production by the bees placing this
> material with honey in the comb.  With honey being higher priced
> than sugar they are making a killing on their product and the bees
> are doing the work.  Is this practice illegal in your area or just
> immoral?
 
No honest beekeeper would knowingly do this.  Where we live, honey
is defined in law as being derived from the nectar of flowers.
 
We do try to ensure that the bees use sugar during the build up and
wintering periods, but cease feeding before applying supers to
hives.
 
I am sure that virtually all beekeepers (and packers) are similarly
scrupulous, however there are occasional exceptions.  Read the
current Speedy Bee for more on this.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>

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