>    * how often the beekeepers are really looking or measuring the amount of
>bee bread, honey, propolis a bee colony has BEFORE wintering?
>
>    * sugar processing, done on the bees biochemical expense will not
>diminish the total reserve of vitamins, proteins, minerals from the hive,
>just before wintering?
What do you mean by this. We find that a colony fed going into winter
stands a far better chance of survival than one which is not,
irrespective of how much honey stores they may have. The simulated flow
created by the feeding often encourages a further brood cycle, thus more
young bees for spring.
 
>    As far as I know, normal honey has at least 70% mono-sacharides which
>needs NO processing, while sugar is 100% a di-sacharide which needs it
>entirely.
Largely true, but then they go and add their natural enzymes anyway.
Also much of the feeding undertaken in North America, and some in N
Europe as well, consists of pre inverted sugars, and mono saccharides.
(Such as HFCS in USA and Canada: mainly fructose.)
>
>    * sugar is a good source of energy, but it takes also a lot of
>bio-energy in order to be processed; in other words, the bees which will
>process, in their own body the refined sugar will get metabolically speaking
>TIRED, even exhausted, especially if they have not all necessary vitamins,
>enzymes (bee bread, honey, propolis) etc. necessary for this processing;
>
>    * tired bees (colony) = lethal risks under bacterial and viruses
>infections specific for the cold seasons;
>
>    * a weak bee (colony) can transmit the viruses, before dying, to other
>new born bees (other colonies); these other bees (colonies), even if they
>have been strong at the beginning, under a long and difficult winter may die
>too;
 
This is DANGEROUSLY misleading, especially to beginners. I have NEVER,
EVER seen a colony end up in such a severly debilitated state through
feeding, experience gathered over around 50 years of myself and my
father.
 
Your argument is like saying 'Do not work for a living, or take
exercise, as you can get tired, or exhausted, and then you are at risk
from a variety of causes.' Probably true, but it conveniently ignores
the fact that both you, and the well fed bee colony, are well over the
'gain line' after expending the energy you mention. They are better,
stronger, and fitter AFTER you have fed them than before.
 
It is correct that the individual worker bee involved in processing the
sugar will have expended some of its biological potential, but this is
more than offset by the benefits of raising a later cycle of brood, and
the absence of gut filling solids in the winter stores.
 
You have taken one fact and extrapolated it without regard for the other
interlinked factors and arrived at an alarming conclusion which has no
correlation to the real situation.
 
>    I think that this theory may explain why there are so many beekeepers,
>all over the world, which are very disciplined and listen to the
>"authorities" but they find lately in spring more than 30-60% from their
>colonies dead...
 
These levels of losses are RARE. They do sometimes happen, and are often
linked to a variety of factors. Linking it to the practice of feeding is
a strange leap of the imagination, when it is often the poor season
before (lack of young bees going into winter, often RECTIFIED by
feeding) which is the prime factor in having vulnerable colonies. (They
have not done ENOUGH beneficial work, rather than having done too much
and burned themselves out)
 
 
>* replace the rich in nutrients, enzymes, minerals etc. honey with the
>extremely poor sugar; processing this sugar, again,  will consume from the
>bees bodies many minerals, enzymes, nutrients, thus increasing, second time,
>the "chance" to obtain a really weak resistance against viruses, bacterias,
>fungi, parasites...
If you think this is even remotely true you should try wintering bees on
these 'rich' stores. Honeys such as pine ( which is available throughout
much of the Balkans) and others, and in our own case heather, are all
rich in the items you desire. Under circumstances where there are long
periods without bee flight these types of honey in the stores can have
very serious consequences indeed for the bees welfare. They contain much
which the bees cannot digest and fill the gut too rapidly leading to
defecation inside the hive. Nosema and other complaints spiral
exponentially killing the colony very quickly, which is a lot less
likely to occur with 'clean' stores. In deep winter brood rearing is
either absent or at a minimal level. Primary requirement is only for
energy for heat, and fed stores fulfil this need very well, often better
than honey which can contain much which is not needed at this time.
 
>    I know that this subject is very sensitive for many beekeepers which use
>probably for years this old "sugar methodology".
>
>    I receive also private "advises" to be more "cautious" with my opinions
>in order not to disturb some important people from the list...
Say what you like. It is a free expression medium, but do not expect to
go unchallenged if you come up with a contentious statement. The
experience level of the participants varies from lifetime professionals
with many thousands of colony/years under their belts, to first year
hobbyists with only one or two hives. All are free to have their say, as
it is supposed to be about informed discussion of bee issues, and each
person offers their own perspective on things. This inevitably means
there will be disagreement. However, I reject your statement about
disturbing important people. In my first couple of months participating
I ran across a few problems like that, but have come to realise that
there are NO important participants and NO unimportant participants.
Just people. If they, or I, or you, think they/I/you are important, then
perhaps being disturbed is well deserved.
 
>    I may be wrong, but I feel that sooner or later our best scientists will
>find other methods, more bio-ecologically ones, in favor of our bee colonies
>and not in our personal budget...
 
This is all very well, and reflects a very high ideal. But without
effective commercial management of colonies it would be difficult to
obtain sufficient supplies of honey for demand to be satisfied. Your
country is a significant source of good quality honey for the
international market, which must make some contribution to your national
budget. Sensible maximisation of this has got to make sense.
 
>    Sincerely, as always,
>
>        Stefan Stangaciu,
>       Constanta, Romania
>         [log in to unmask]
 
Kind regards to all
 
Murray
--
Murray McGregor
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