Bill Miller wrote
 
>     Dave Eyre writes that dysentry (Nosema) comes from poor stores.   I
>assume by that he means from stores with too high a moisture content
 
Whoa! back up a bit Bill. I didn't write that. I didn't say that dysentry
(Nosema) are caused by poor stores. These are different problems. Nosema is
caused by a spore which attacks the bees intestine. The thread at the time
was discussing fecal spotting. I still maintain that dysentry is caused by
too wet stores! If you feed a large quantity of 2-1 sugar in the fall, the
bees will take it down. Now if there is a cold snap and they haven't had
time to deal with it all, there is the danger that some will ferment, as
sugar in water will do. Last year we used baby nucs(Queen rearing) for the
first time. One failed, so we shook the bees out, and recovered the box,
within a few days the unused sugar was fissing, a sure sign of fermentation.
Now if the bees got to it, you can be sure dysentry would result. Another
way would to be to feed caramelised sugar or honey, either by stupidity or
lack of knowledge. You'd be amazed at the antics some beekeepers get to ,to
save a dollar.!!
 
 
>engineer, I can tell you that in a well ventilated hive, none of the normal
>methods of feeding sugar syrup will noticably increase the relative humidity
>in the hive.
 
Where does the water the bees are evaporating out, go to. Agreed, in a well
ventilated hive out through the top. But you must agree from 2 gallons they
pull out a lot of moisture, so it has to raise the humidity of the hive. I'm
sure somebody would know how much.
 
>     The danger from feeding weak syrup is that it may stimulate the queen to
>lay eggs (as if it were a nectar flow) during the winter period when brood
>rearing is not desired.
 
This why the rule is 'Feed in the fall"! My view is pollen substitute in the
spring, sugar in the fall. But that's another thread.
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