newbee question

[newbee 101]

Can you feed honey back to the bees? If so, can you put some in a hive top feeder? How about granulated honey? I was just thinking
about why so much sugar water is used and not left over honey.

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"To bee or not to bee, that is the question"

[MountainCamp]

>Can you feed honey back to the bees?
Yes, if you know that it is not tainted with AFB spores.

>If so, can you put some in a hive top feeder?
Yes,

>How about granulated honey?
Yes,

>I was just thinking about why so much sugar water is used and not left over honey.
What is left over honey? I have less than a 150# of honey left from this year's pull. I will be out of honey within 2 weeks or so.
Honey sells retail, here for about $4.00 a pound. A 5# bag of granulated sugar, usually sells for about $1.99. One 5# bag of granulated sugar will equal 7# of winter feed.
That 7# of winter feed @ $1.99 is $28.00 worth of honey.


[This message has been edited by MountainCamp (edited December 02, 2004).]

[clintonbemrose]

You can feed honey back to the bees but make sure there is no diseases in the hives it came from. Feeding back crystalized honey can give your bees a stomach ach or cause noesma disease. Your better option would be to hear the honey until the crystals disaper in a double boiler type unit and after it cools give it to the bees.
Clint

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Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan
Beekeeping sence 1964

[JWG]

A minor tip: The froth skimmed from pails of honey can be accumulated and allowed to granulate, and chunks of it can be placed on the top bars of needy colonies in the winter or early spring for recycling. Same goes for the granulated or littered honey that accumulates in strainers. This, IMO is better than dumping it down the drain. If you have a number of pails of honey it can produce enough waste to make this really worthwhile. The bees will make good use of it.

[MountainCamp]

Nosema is caused by a microspordian, and not by crystallized honey. That is why it is treated with fumagillin.

Crystallized honey can cause dysentery, because of the fermentation that sometimes takes place when honey crystallizes, but if they can take cleansing flights, this is not a problem.


[This message has been edited by MountainCamp (edited December 02, 2004).]