I wonder if colony survival is the same as 'most profitable practice.' Can the advantage of newly drawn foundation that results from feeding syrup pay for dead outs? Can increased brood stimulated by protein supplementation bring in more revenue from bee sales and honey production sufficient to offset increased colony loss? Jon, that's an easy answer... yes... its why 1000's of honey producers do it. We do suspect and know that HFCS and or sugar or protein are not the "best" for be longevity. What is never taken into account is starvation. Not seen any published reports, but I have a hunch its really bad for bees. Randy did a nice article for ABJ (and its on his site) about feeding patties up for early brood for ammonds. Its field realistic. Its why many of us keep bees, for AG use. Which means we steal the honey and replace it with lower cost HFCS. Honey is 3.00 a pound if the "average" uses 60lbs of honey that's 180.00 and you still have the "normal" 20% loss (after they eat the honey of course) so you need 220.00 on average to get your bees thru winter on honey. Packages are roughly 90.00 (depends on qty of course) so simple math says let them starve. Replace that with HFCS 60lbs is roughly 15.00 add in a pollen patty or two and round it up to 20 bucks to try to overwinter. That's still leaving out the need for early bees for pollination, or the increase yields from early buildup. I don't do that so I cant do the math well but assume a little feed means 20% more bees and you will be close. How healthy are those bees? Well they make money that's the end answer. We have two divergent groups in beekeepers. Those in it for a business, and those who only want the best for their bees. The real challenge I am finding is striking a balance. Neonics are a perfect example also. Yup there bad for bees if the eat them. But whats worse IMO is the generic spraying that preceded them. It's a balance. Genes research just showed that the genome reacts differently for HFCS or sugar than honey. Its good research, but many are reading in to it what they want to. Of course the bees react differently, just as your body will react differently to a salad, or a steak. Which is best? Is one deadly? And at what levels? I think there was a girl that died from a month straight of chicken mcnuggets. Yet a few now and then don't seem to be a long term health issue. Its all the balance..... Charles *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html