Not that I really no what I'm doing yet, but it seems that with all the recipes for sugar water it requires putting in vinegar or lemon juice. I think the recipe was based on the natural ph of honey and making your sugar water reflect the same ph.
Would it be more correct to make your s.w reflect the ph of nektar wich could be less than honey's ph.
I'm thinking that the concentrated sugar water in the comb, could actually be hyper acidic.
Has anybody actually ever tested the 1 to 1 sugar water that has been stored ? - Bob
A slight amount of vinegar or lemon juice is probably trying to reduce spoilage. The first thing that you should be considering is ... why are you feeding sugar water, and why do you, in your particular situation right now, feel the need to. Yes, bees always need a good supply of water, delivered in a way that won't let them drown in it, but they don't necessarily need sugar. (Yes, they will store it ... but that's not really the honey that you are hoping for.)
So, instead of saying that you "should" or "shouldn't" be feeding sugar, I just encourage you to consider "why or why not." Are there plenty of flowers blooming in your area? Is your local agricultural extension office talking about a dearth? "Ask six people and you'll get seven opinions," of course, but mine is that sugar-feeding generally ought to be the exception rather than the rule, and that the growth of your hives (or lack thereof, c'est la vie) ought to as much as possible originate from local, bee-gathered, pollen and nectar. I personally look upon sugar-feeding in much the same way as I regard the "energy" drinks that seem to be all the vogue these days. inch: ("Not in my mouth, you don't!") Yes, you might need to do it. But, don't "merely assume" that you do.
Mrobinson got it right. Main PH adjustment is to reduce fermentation. Only really necessary if you're putting on more feed than they can take in a few days. Using a clean jar will help as well. Bees eat honey so you would want to reflect the PH of honey more than nectar. I only feed to stimulate comb drawing before flows, other than that the bees will always have a full super of honey for them to use.
I'm sorry maybe I'm not making myself clear. There are bee keepers who believe matching the acidity of sugar syrup to the acidity of honey is a much more natural ph for the bees to consume.
My point is that if we are calculating the ph/acidity of the sugar syrup BEFORE the bees place it in the comb and concentrate it thru evaporation are we ending up with a syrup that has a final acidity that is more than honey. Thank's for the replies
Your assumption is correct, as the level of dilution of the acid decreases as the bees evaporate the water off. The sugar syrup, if it had a ph equal to honey at the start, would end up being more acidic. But not by much as it is still diluted by the sugar.
Thank's everybody and thanks for the link it explains a lot :thumbsup:
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