Please note the subject correction.   

"(was "pollen patties vs pollen substitute") has been removed.  
Please do not add "Was..." to subjects.  It screws up the list.
If you change the subject, please just change the subject.  Thanks.

Now to the topic...

>> I constantly hear newbees advised to feed, feed, feed their bees till 
>> they won't take it anymore. I always wonder how much of that cane sugar 
>>ends up in their supers as "honey".

Newbees are often advised to start on foundation (which is pretty bad 
advice -- in my opinion).

As a result, they often produce little honey and are in danger of losing their
bees if they do not feed heavily.  In fact, I'd estimate that 50% of the starts 
by beginners on foundation fail for lack of feeding.  I doubt they ever fail from 
overfeeding, especially since beeginners often have probelsm getting the feed 
where the bees will take it when they need it most.

If the bees are started on foundation, chances are that all the "honey"stored
 the first year will be needed for winter.  Hopefully by the second year, the 
beeginner will be more informed, especially if he/she has read this list for a year 
or two :)

As for the contamination, that is a risk, but harmelss enough unless the 
feed contains drugs and other additives which are inappropriate for human 
consumption.  Of course, though it is obviously not desitrable.

Learning when to feed and how much to feed takes experience, and 
beeginners tend to either overfeed or underfeed.

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