Robin said:
Has the colony been given sugar feeds which are apparently  common practice
in USA?

In Missouri we have just had the dryest July in over a hundred years of
record keeping. Allmost all the honey plants have burned up. We are running
24/7 trying ot get honey supers off so we can feed syrup.

Why?

Because honey sells for around $!.50 a pound and syrup costs around .20 a
pound.

Right now the bees have moved most of the bottom honey super down into the
brood nest and will continue to do so until all the supers are empty (in
areas of extreme drought such as ours).

Robin said:
 If so, the larvae will have been fed a deficient diet, as syrup has the
same sugar content as nectar but includes none of the vital traces of
minerals, vitamins and medicinal substances possibly expressed by plants in
their nectar - 50% of modern drugs are extracted or derived from plants.

Robin is of course entitled to his opinion but research from all parts of
the world have never been able to prove bees fed fructose do not do as well
as bees fed honey. In fact most research says the bees winter better on
fructose.

I will say that no pollen substitute ever made will replace natural pollen
for bees in quality.

Robin said:
 A deficient diet may have produced these sickly bees -

Poor beekeeping practices produced these bees in my opinion!

Bob

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