Chris Slade writes: 'It always amuses me that in 'Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey' the author
describes the practice he recommended of feeding heavily with X pounds of
sugar and being rewarded with X pounds of honey to harvest later'.

Let's stick to facts. In 'Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey', Bro Adam said: 'The reader will have drawn the conclusion that stimulative feeding, apart from getting the foundations drawn in the brood chamber (all underlining by me). That is in fact so. There was a time .many years ago.when we considered stimulative feeding in spring desirable if not essential. ...No feeding is done now, except when absolutely necessary ....

The feeding of sugar seems inescapable .in the climate in the British Isles and .Europe. It is however a measure we take ..only when absolutely compelled to do so. 

A timely feed . will often make the difference between success and failure or even disaster. ..in well-meaning amateurs ..sugar is likely to be abused.'

So, Bro Adam fed only when compelled by the climate, not to boost the honey harvest. 

Other posts have said you must feed bees in summer if they are short of food. Of course - otherwise they die! It's an emergency! Noone has said otherwise, including me. If bees are really short on food there will be nothing in supers and provided supers are removed or put above the clearing board, the emergency feed will not be stored if restricted to say a gallon. 

The theme is about the issue that non-essential spring feeding - in particular, to force bees to draw out plastic foundation - runs the risk of contaminating the honey and losing honey the reputation for purity on which the high market value of beekeeper's honey depends. Emergency feeding is not what we are talking about. 

There is a link however. Why are bees starving? A total failure of spring nectar or removing more spring honey than was truly surplus? I leave at least one super of spring honey to provide a natural reserve and can remember very few years (in 40) when the weather turned so bad emergency feeding was needed. Commercial beekeepers may have to remove spring honey to pay the bills - hobbyists should not. Commercial beekeepers are expert enough to guard agaiinst over-feeding - hobbyists may not have enough experience. My plea remains: Don't do anything to bees whose consequences you cannot accurately predict. 

Robin Dartington. 

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