I have a question with regard to the following topic: >John Taylor's book says to feed swarms a sugar solution made up of 20 pounds >of sugar to 1 gallon of water? That's a 2.5 to 1 strength- fall feeding >stuff. Not what I want to feed a fresh package. > >I was taught (and have had success with) feeding packages and weak colonies >1 to 1 sugar syrup to simulate a nectar flow. The lesser concentration >simulates a natural nectar flow, and encourages the workers to draw comb and >the queen to lay eggs. Both of these are desirable in a package. ******* In the past several weeks we have had various references to making up sugar syrup for feeding bees. The above example switches from a weight and volume ratio to a 1:1 ratio. The question: "When someone says 1:1, does that mean each component by weight (1# of sugar to 1# of water), by volume (1 liter of sugar to 1 liter of water), or by a combination of the two measures?" Which is meant makes a great deal of difference in the sugar concentration. By the context of the messages, it appears that people are using equal VOLUMES of sugar and water. If that is NOT true in your operations, would you please send your response to me directly rather than to BEE-L (unless you feel your reply is of general interest). Thanks in advance. Adrian *************************************************************** * Adrian Wenner E-Mail [log in to unmask] * * Dept.Ecol.,Evol.,& Mar.Biol. Office Phone (805) 893-2838 * * University of California Lab Phone (805) 893-2675 * * Santa Barbara, CA 93106 FAX (805) 893-8062 * * * ***************************************************************