The "Bee Problem" Is High Fructose Corn Syrup to blame?

[Ohioann]

I'm a new bee keeper of just one year so I still have lots to learn. Have never used HFCS but have used sugar syrup (cane sugar) and sugar and crisco patties to supplement the bees. As for honey. I did not get any off my first year hives as I wanted to let the bees build up.We do use honey and I buy it locally from beekeepers I know and can ask about their practices. Become a locovore as much as you can so you can talk to the producers and buy from those whose philosphy is close to your own.

 

[big brown horse]

I'm a new bee keeper of just one year so I still have lots to learn. Have never used HFCS but have used sugar syrup (cane sugar) and sugar and crisco patties to supplement the bees. As for honey. I did not get any off my first year hives as I wanted to let the bees build up.We do use honey and I buy it locally from beekeepers I know and can ask about their practices. Become a locovore as much as you can so you can talk to the producers and buy from those whose philosphy is close to your own.

Great advice!

I am a locovore (love that word!) however, I would NEVER even have thought to ask if the beekeeper used hfcs, corn syrup or sugar water, I assumed they only lived on nectar.

Apparently even some of the local beekeepers use hfcs or corn syrup if they have a lot of hives.

(The raw honey I just bought from a local beekeeper has a phone number on it, I'm going to call her later and ask if she uses sugar water in the fall and spring.)

 

[valmom]

I took some beekeeping day seminars from a local beekeeper a couple of years ago when contemplating keeping bees. He said he leaves the bees honey to keep them through the winter like mother nature intended. He dusts his bees with powdered sugar to keep away mites. A great guy, a little eccentric, but really knows his stuff.

Now I want bees again. Maybe this year.

 

[big brown horse]

I took some beekeeping day seminars from a local beekeeper a couple of years ago when contemplating keeping bees. He said he leaves the bees honey to keep them through the winter like mother nature intended. He dusts his bees with powdered sugar to keep away mites. A great guy, a little eccentric, but really knows his stuff.

Now I want bees again. Maybe this year.

I want bees too!

This beekeeper also said he dusted his bees with powdered sugar. He kept a sticky mat at the bottom of the hive and when they shook off the sugar the mites fell off too. The sticky mat kept the mites from coming back. I thought that was so smart!

 

[valmom]

Oh, I forgot my original thought that I wanted to post. If GMO corn is used to produce the HFCS, does it contain residue of Roundup that was used on the corn (since that is what GMO corn is supposed to allow more use of)?

 

[big brown horse]

Good question.

 

[Dace]

Oh, I forgot my original thought that I wanted to post. If GMO corn is used to produce the HFCS, does it contain residue of Roundup that was used on the corn (since that is what GMO corn is supposed to allow more use of)?

One would assume.....yet no one seems to know OR want to disclose!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Very, very good question. It stands to reason that there is at least a tiny residue.

 

[lupinfarm]

This reminds me of the Informant. lol. At the beginning where they talk about corn.

 

[bibliophile birds]

we've got a dozen hives and have been keeping bees for over a decade (i was the best little beek 4-Her!) and NEVER feed HFCS! the only times you really need to feed the bees are: a hive's first winter when they haven't had a chance to build up good stores, particularly long winters where they may run out of food, falls where the preceding growing season was really bad, or if you completely rob them (which is never a great idea, even in established hives).

honey is actually not a bee's ideal food source- it's more for feeding the brood than feeding the workers- but they are adapted to survive on it through a "typical" winter. they actually metabolize sugar water easier than honey, but i, and many beeks, believe that bees need this winter period of slowed metabolism to maintain a heavy hive.

the reason you feed in the fall rather than in winter is that hive temperature is a very delicate thing. feeding in fall allows the bees to store up lots of honey before it's cold. if you wait until winter to start feeding, you are going to have hungrier bees AND you are going to be exposing the hive to winter temperatures that it isn't designed for. chilled hives are dead hives. we check our bees periodically throughout the winter, but only on unusually warm days with lots of sunshine and we open the hive as little as possible- usually only cracking the top.

HFCS and the myriad of other modern "interventions" have done a lot of damage to bees. people just want to cut corners and save money by doing things without thinking about the natural life of a hive and the long-term consequences. it's bad for the bees, it's bad for the bottom line, and it's bad for us. i just don't know why someone would become a beekeeper if they weren't prepared to put in the actual work to learn and observe...