Wm Beasley asks how can he avoid storing sugar syrup honey in supers if a
package is fed until it has drawn out not only 2 brood boxes but also a
medium super. The answer surely is that sugar will certainly be stored - the
sucrose mostly inverted to other sugars as in the case of nectar but
producing a tasteless paste or poor texture.   Even if feeding ended as soon
as both brood boxes were drawn out, sugar would still be transferred up to
the super since initially it would be stored in the brood boxes until the
colony grew large enough to fill h boxes with brood. The issue here is that
the beekeepeer must choose between purity and a heavy harvest large harvest.
In the  UK climate we have virtually no commercial  honey farming , mostly
only sideliners supplementing income and pure hobbyists. Hobbyists would
never feed a swarm starting a new nest more than say 1 gallon of syrup,
possibly much less if there was a flow. That would get the combs started but
not finished - the new colony would be expected to build up slowly and
steadily thru to autumn when (hopefully) it would need only the 8 to 16 lbs
of sugar given a production colony t bring the winter stores up to a total
of 40 ponds.  If there is not enough forage for building thru the summer,
then it is a bad area for bees. That amount of winter feed is consumed
before the first spring flow (on a last in, first out principle) - all the
honey would then be pure, with no 'hugar' contamination or whatever u want
to call it.  'Pure' honey retails here for 10 times or more the price of
sugar - say £2.50 to £4 per pound jar ($4 to$6.40) . That price depends on
bottling yourself and keeping a reputation for purity - including total
avoidance of antibiotics.
I get the impression USA producers are more in the bulk market - with
enormous crops to get rid of - and produce to a lower standard and get a
lower price.  Is that right?
Wm Beasley has to make his choice - 'natural' beekeeping producing small
harvests of the highest quality or following commercial practice.  People
who produce backyard vegetables do not follow the methods of prairie
farmers.  Is backyard beekeeping  best seen that way too?
Robin Dartington


----- Original Message -----
From: "Wm. Beasley" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2003 12:16 PM
Subject: [BEE-L] How much feeding to draw comb?


> A newbie question here. I understand that either a nectar flow or active
> feeding (e.g. sugar syrup) is necessary to get the bees to draw out new
> comb. I'm starting two nucs, and expect to feed them until the
> foundation is drawn out and filled for two deeps; local beekeepers tell
> me that two deeps is the standard wintering configuration here in NE
> Ohio. Assuming that this process is completed I expect to move on to a
> (medium) honey super, which is all foundation since that's all I have.
> As near as I can tell, I should continue feeding the hive at that point
> to get them to draw out the medium... how do I handle it so that I don't
> end up with sugar syrup honey in the process of trying to get the comb
> drawn for the first time? Unless I'm missing something, it appears that
> the question will then repeat for each new honey super I need to
> introduce, until I have enough frames of drawn comb to get me through
> the season.
>
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