Bill Truesdell said: > (BTW, beet sugar is harmful to bees as a feed.) Where did you hear this, Bill? All I recall is that several studies (most of them done in Canada when they were trying to work out how to overwinter bees on the plains) that found no tangible difference between HFCS, cane sugar syrup, and beet sugar syrup as a feed for "worst case overwintering", when bees are confined for very long periods. (Sorry, I have no citations) These same studies showed significant disadvantages in attempting to overwinter on honey stores versus the various alternatives. These findings infuriate those who persist in somehow thinking that honey just HAS to be the best possible feed for overwintering simply because "the bees know best", and "its natural", a cognitive stance that must also imply that the best possible queens would be swarm or supercedure queens, rather than overtly "bred" or AI queens. :) That said, the longer the period in which bees are unable to fly during winter, the more that the indigestible components of honey would become an issue of concern, so in mild climates, with winters that allow periodic bee flight, I doubt that there would be much detectable negative impact from feeding honey, other than that nagging empty feeling in one's wallet. Here are two fairly detailed overviews of feeding pros and cons, that are online: http://www.beesource.com/pov/usda/abjfeb1977.htm http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HBE/05-054.pdf -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---