Date 11/29/93 Subject Re- Icing on the Cake From Rick Hough To Discussion of Bee Biology Reply to: Re: Icing on the Cake > From: [log in to unmask] > A recent truck accident has dumped several hundred > pounds of confectioners' sugar into my hands. Help. It seems a shame to waste so much sugar, but I would not use it on my bees. The word throughout my beekeeping club is "DON'T USE CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR!" I believe the reason is that there is some cream of tartar in confectioners' sugar (used to prevent the powder from clumping). This creates tartaric acid, which can give the bees dysentery. This info is via the grapevine, so I would treat it with an appropriate level of skepticism, but then again, it might be accurate! Anyone with more solid knowledge have any comments??? Rick Hough, [log in to unmask] a hobby beekeeper from Hamilton, MA (just a bit NE of Boston)