From: "deelusbybeekeeper" <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>
Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2001 20:54:33 -0800
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: Sugar and wintering

I wrote:

<< that it was the pollen stores that gave the edge to the bees in
> overwintering well! >>

Chris responded:
> In spite of the extra waste products from pollen husks to dispose of.

Reply:
Well, Chris, yes it is the pollen stores in a colony that give bees the edge
in overwintering well in real extreme climates and on top of this, did you
also know that it was proved in 1959 in real scientific experiments also
(just like the overwintering well by US Scientists) by Taranov that pollen
or bee bread, is also of great importance during wax production!!! I keyed
in on some of the stuff he wrote because the best regression of honeybees to
smaller worker combs is best done the earlier the better in the spring with
combs fed in prior to bees wanting to draw draw combs so when they do (and
spring is the easiest, earliest time of the year) you have to have the bees
do it with plenty of pollen either coming in or already in storage. It is
known fact that queens start laying in the smallest cells available first
when they have a choice.

Now Taranov found and proved that pollen is of great importance during wax
production AND when young bees were fed SUGAR solution only, they lost up to 20% of their body protein in 15 days of intensive wax production. Also in his experiments
he found a direct relationship between the quantity of wax obtained from a
colony and the AMOUNT of POLLEN in the hive. Also experiments by a
Freudenstein in 1961 later supported these findings.

So bees overwinter better with pollen and build wax better with pollen and
sugar pulls the bees down, but by some odd concidence honey was not
mentioned. But then honey has vitamins and minerals and sublethal floating
particles of pollen and wax in it in it's raw natural state if having to
feed and if not, we already here know from previously talk that the bees in
the comb have access to the pollen, access to the honey and can move wax
around from frame to frame and super to super as needed

Now question Chris brought to my mind in thinking about all of this! If
working that hard with their systems producting wax the bees loss that much
muscle tone (body protein, etc) by being fed sugar solution, then how much
detriment being fed same is there in overwintering and haveing to flex
muscles to thermoregulate, rather than a natural diet on real honey with
vitamins and minerals intact? Do you think that anyone has done any research
on this thought?

Regards,

Dee