[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > patties of shortening and granulated sugar but I've read somewhere that
> > beekeepers sometimes provide granulated sugar alone. What can you tell a
>
> Though you can feed dry sugar to good effect, for this situation I'd
> avoid it.  Dry sugar feeding has the advantages of easy, little or
> no extra gear, clean, no spilled syrup to cause robbing, little/no
> stimulation of the queen's egg laying.  But it is at a cost.  The
> bees to handle it must liquify it themselves, then evaporate off the
> excess again - there is an energy conversion factor which means for
> any given quantity of sugar, feeding it dry will result in less
> stores overall.
>
> Murray Reid, one of NZ's bee advisory officers who reads this list,
> wrote a good article on this some years back - I'll see if I can
> find it.
>
> But for your situation, Marcia, I'd feed with as heavy a sugar syrup
> as I could make (just at the point of maximum saturation) (knowing
> that this will probably cause some responses from the others on the
> list!!!)
>
> How to feed?  Personal preference plays a lot in it.  As it isn't
> extreme cold you're dealing with, it doesn't matter so much, so
> either over the broodnest with jar, Boardman feeder at entrance,
> division board feeder or over the top type feeder - machts nichts!
>
>   (\      Nick Wallingford
>  {|||8-   home [log in to unmask]
>   (/      work [log in to unmask]
> NZ Beekeeping http://www.wave.co.nz/pages/nickw/nzbkpg.htm
[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > patties of shortening and granulated sugar but I've read somewhere that
> > beekeepers sometimes provide granulated sugar alone. What can you tell a
>
> Though you can feed dry sugar to good effect, for this situation I'd
> avoid it.  Dry sugar feeding has the advantages of easy, little or
> no extra gear, clean, no spilled syrup to cause robbing, little/no
> stimulation of the queen's egg laying.  But it is at a cost.  The
> bees to handle it must liquify it themselves, then evaporate off the
> excess again - there is an energy conversion factor which means for
> any given quantity of sugar, feeding it dry will result in less
> stores overall.
>
> Murray Reid, one of NZ's bee advisory officers who reads this list,
> wrote a good article on this some years back - I'll see if I can
> find it.
>
> But for your situation, Marcia, I'd feed with as heavy a sugar syrup
> as I could make (just at the point of maximum saturation) (knowing
> that this will probably cause some responses from the others on the
> list!!!)
>
> For many years I have followed the traditional system of supplemental
feeding (equal quantities, BY WEIGHT, of sugar and water). But, all that
time I kept telling myself that I had to being doing my honeybees an
injustice because honeybees have to spend energy to get rid of any extra
water that we feed them. I have heard from many sources that corn syrup
is harmful to honeybee larvae! I also had my doubts about that theory
and decided to submit it to scientific study. I plan to share the
results of my second research project (in addition to that with Varroa
mites) at the 54TH Annual Convention of the AFB in Norfolk, Virginia,
USA. I know that many of you are going to write back to me again
complaining (hopefully not about my spelling) about the sanity and
willingness to challenge established practices! I hope that some of you
will remember to write thanking me when you start enjoying the benefits
of my work in you bee yards!
Yes, concentrate your sugar solution almost to the point of simulating
honey. Your honeybees will love it, and you too!
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY BEEKEEPING!
Dr. Pedro Rodriguez
Virginia Beach, Virginia USA
>
>   (\      Nick Wallingford
>  {|||8-   home [log in to unmask]
>   (/      work [log in to unmask]
> NZ Beekeeping http://www.wave.co.nz/pages/nickw/nzbkpg.htm