> The paper which the article cites also looked at corn syrup, honey and
> sugar (boiled and heated) and came to the conclusion that the best winter
> feed was plain sugar syrup- not boiled but just dissolved. It caused the
> least- if any- dysentary.
 
Very good advice.
 
Another factor to be sure to consider is that when we talk about 'corn
syrup' we are *not* talking about the kind you buy on the store shelf --
that kind is toxic to confined bees.
 
We are talking type 55 high Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  This product is a
satisfactory winter feed IF it is made by enzymatic method and is not
off-spec. We buy it by the tanker load, and sometimes a big beekeeper will
share with his smaller neighbours.
 
Although HFCS is a good feed and even the type 42 can be used in southern
areas, caged bee tests show better longevity with sucrose in water than
with HFCS, and therefore we don't take any chances with our bees in
winter; we feed sucrose early in the fall and let the bees work it into
good stores.
 
We use HFCS in spring and summer -- if it is cheaper than sucrose at the
time.  We never would use the consumer type corn syrup for anything but
pancakes (But why use corn syrup when honey mixed down to syrup
consistency is *so* much better than corn syrup -- or even maple syrup?)
 
Allen
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