>Jim wrote:
>This is a good point - what would happen if one removed ALL honey from a
>hive in an area with no fall nectar of any significance, and fed the heck
out
>of it in August and September?  Has anyone tried this?  I can't imagine
that
>either sugar water or HFCS provides the "balanced diet" that bees really
need.

I do this every fall. So do most beekeepers here in Sweden. Let me explain
our climate to go with this: The main nectar flow usually ends around July
15:th, but nectar is available until the end of August. In early September,
the temperatures will be around 15 degrees Celsius (59 F). Right now,
temperatures are around +5 Celsius (41 F). Temperatures will be between -10
and +5 Celsius (14-40 F) until March, when it gets warmer again. The
dandelions start blooming around the beginning of May, and that is usually
the start of the nectar flow. Cleansing flights usually happen around the
end of February.

Somewhere between August 20:th and September 10:th, all supers are removed.
It is also common to remove any frames in the brood boxes that have honey on
them and replace them with empty frames with comb. Immediately after
removing all the honey, the colonies are fed with sugar syrup, 40% water and
60% ordinary sugar.

The amount of sugar needed to get through winter varies depending on what
part of the country you live and what race of bees you have. Myself, living
near Stockholm (get your maps out and look for Sweden, people) and keeping
carnolian bees, need to feed them approximately 16 kilograms (35 pounds) of
sugar.

I keep around 20 colonies and have never lost a colony over the winter, so
this works perfectly. I do not medicate the colonies at all, but varroa has
arrived this summer, so i will have to find ways to keep that under control.

An other method (called the norwegian wintering) is to shake the bees into
brood boxes with foundation only before feeding sugar syrup like described
above. The bees will build beautiful fresh comb for the winter and those who
use that method claim it keeps the bees healthy.

/Mats Andersson, Stockholm Sweden